Fisker

The current incarnation of Fisker, named for Danish-American founder Henrik Fisker, was formed in 2016, but the brand name dates back to 2005. The company plans a range of EVs beginning in 2023 with the Ocean SUV.

Fisker, an automotive designer who graduated from the ArtCenter College of Design in Switzerland, first worked for BMW designing concept cars and the famous, James Bond-driven BMW Z8. He later left Munich for Ford and Aston-Martin before departing to found Fisker Coachbuild in 2005 in Southern California.

That original company built high-end coachbuilt Mercedes-Benz and BMW-derived sports cars, called the Fisker Tramonto and Fisker Latigo, but merged with EV startup Quantum Technologies in 2007 to focus on designing a high-performance series-hybrid electric sedan, the Fisker Karma. 

Akin to an ultra-high-performance Chevrolet Volt, the Karma blended electric motors and a 20.1 kWh battery with a gas engine that could generate electricity. It had a 32-mile pure electric range (still considered good by today’s standards) more than a decade before such PHEVs were commonplace and 402 system horsepower.

The dramatically styled Karma made its debut at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show, garnering lots of attention and helping the company qualify for a U.S. Department of Energy loan, but it did not go into production until 2011. 

By then, Tesla had launched the rival Model S, which Fisker had helped design while briefly working for the Musk-owned EV company, and the company was also hit with a series of setbacks. Problems with Fisker’s battery supplier led to costly, time-consuming recalls and a production shutdown. Then, the destruction of a shipment of cars during Hurricane Sandy further hurt supply. 

Fisker Automotive filed for Chapter 11 in 2013, only to be revived by Chinese investors as Karma Automotive, who continued to build the original design as the Karma Revero.

Fisker, Inc. was founded in 2016 to build EVs and autonomous vehicles, focusing first on concept cars and shuttle buses. After major investments, including $50M in financing from Moore Strategic Ventures, the company announced plans for an IPO and its first production vehicle, the Fisker Ocean crossover.

Backed by private equity firm Apollo Global Management, Fisker, Inc. went public via SPAC in late 2020 in a deal worth $2.9B. The Ocean debuted at the 2021 Los Angeles Auto Show, with plans to produce the SUVs in Austria at Magna Steyr rather than opening its own factory (the original Fisker Karma was built by Valmet in Finland). The Ocean uses a variety of technologies developed by supplier Magna, and production is slated to begin in November 2022.

In addition to Magna, Fisker is also involved in a major partnership with China’s Foxconn, which plans to manufacture some Fisker vehicles at the former Lordstown Motors factory in Ohio.

Like many EV startups, Fisker plans to eschew traditional dealers and sell its vehicles both online and through experience centers. The company has confirmed that the Ocean and other future vehicles will be covered by a six-year, 60,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty including roadside assistance and a ten-year, 100,000-mile powertrain and battery component warranty.