Fisker Pear Reservations Surpass 5,000
LORDSTOWN, Ohio – Reservations for Fisker Inc.’s Pear, the small electric vehicle planned for production at Foxconn’s factory here, have surpassed 5,000, the company’s chairman and CEO said Wednesday.
“We have started examining factory investments with Foxconn to position Pear production,” Henrik Fisker told analysts during a conference call related to the company’s third quarter earnings.
To date, more than 5,000 have placed reservations for the vehicle and its development is ahead of schedule. The company expects to have a drivable prototype ready “ahead of time,” he said.
The CEO said the investments are intended to steer production that is compliant with the Inflation Reduction Act. The law contains provisions that allow consumers a $7,500 tax credit toward the purchase of an EV. For a vehicle to be eligible for the credit, however, it must be manufactured in the United States and a certain percentage of its battery components must be sourced domestically or from countries with a free trade agreement with the U.S.
The precise language of the law is still being negotiated, leaving open a window for easing some of these restrictions.
Still, Fisker said the vehicle’s conception phase is completed, and the company is transitioning its engineering and purchasing team from the Fisker Ocean vehicle to the Pear.
“We’re already engaging suppliers,” he said. Production and sales of the Pear are expected to begin in 2024, with its base version under $30,000.
Fisker, based in Manhattan Beach, Calif., has a framework agreement with Foxconn to build the Pear at the Lordstown plant. Foxconn purchased the 6.2 million-square-foot-facility from Lordstown Motors Corp. for $230 million.
“All core manufacturing processes will be done in house,” Fisker said, which includes stamping, body, paint, general assembly and other operations.
“Stamping will be capable of big dimensional and complex parts, the body shop will be a flexible integrated modular structure, and the paint shop will be environmentally friendly.”
The installation phase would focus on state-of-the art equipment and tools, Fisker noted, followed by personnel qualification and launch quality management.
“Foxconn will have a smart automation, maintenance, digital factory and production facility,” he said.
The company has said it wants to manufacture as many as 250,000 Pears from Foxconn’s plant.
Fisker is scheduled to launch its first vehicle, the Ocean, Nov. 17 from a Magna International plant in Austria. To date, the vehicle has secured more than 62,000 reservations from potential customers. The company projects it would build 42,400 units over the next year.
The EV startup reported a loss of $149 million during the third quarter.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
