Fisker almost halves US Ocean prices in urgent fundraising drive

Fisker has almost halved the price of all the Ocean SUVs it has in stock in the US, in an urgent bid to raise funds and avoid bankruptcy. The American EV firm has halted production of its sole model at the Magna Steyr factory in Austria and is now trying to rapidly clear the backlog of already-built examples, as it seeks to shore up its unstable financial position. Dealer-stock examples of the entry-level Ocean Sport are now priced from $24,999 (£20,000), a reduction of $14,000, while Ocean Extremes have been cut from $61,499 (£48,800) to $37,499 (£30,000). Fisker last week announced that it had some 4700 cars in its inventory, at a claimed value of more than $200 million (£158.5m). Fisker said it "is not providing comment on business operations or speculation at the moment". It did, however, say the cuts were intended to reposition the Ocean as "a more affordable and compelling EV choice". It comes shortly after the firm's rescue talks with a "large auto maker" – widely reported to have been Nissan – fell through, with a potential $400m (£316m) reported to have been on the table. It was understood that Nissan would have exchanged a cash injection for access to the platform underpinning the upcoming Fisker Alaska pick-up, in order to develop its own compact truck. Nissan was to build the prospective model alongside the Alaska at one of its plants in North America. The collapse of talks significantly raised the risk of Fisker going bankrupt. Bosses warned in February that “current resources [were] insufficient to satisfy its requirements over the next 12 months” and that it would need additional equity or debt financing to survive. It added that “the company expects to conclude there is substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern”. Following the end of the Nissan talks, Fisker said in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it “continues to evaluate strategic alternatives”. It added: “Such alternatives may include in- or out-of-court restructurings, capital markets transactions (subject to market conditions), repurchases, redemptions, exchanges or other refinancings of its existing debt, the potential issuance of equity securities, the potential sale of assets and businesses and/or other strategic transactions and/or other measures. “These alternatives involve significant uncertainties, potential significant delays, costs and other risks, and there can be no assurance that any of these alternatives will be available on acceptable terms, or at all, in the current market environment or in the foreseeable future.” The end of the Nissan talks also means Fisker might not receive the $150m in funding from an unnamed existing investor that it announced last week, because that funding (which was to be provided in the form of convertible notes in four tranches) was subject to Fisker striking a deal with a major manufacturer. The company will now request that the investor waive this condition or that it provides financing under different terms. Fisker previously paused development of its Pear hatchback after losing $463.6m during the fourth quarter of 2023. Founder and boss Henrik Fisker previously said: “We aren't planning to start external expenditure on our next projects until we have a strategic OEM [manufacturer] partnership in place." Chief financial officer Geeta Gupta-Fisker added that the Alaska’s development depended on a successful tie-up with a car maker. “Any programmes which are beyond the Ocean would only incur expenses if there's a strategic collaboration," she said.