Fisker Halts Plans to Make Pear EV at Foxconn Plant

LORDSTOWN, Ohio – Fisker Inc., the California EV startup that said it would build its new Pear EV model at the Foxconn plant here, says unless it gets a huge cash infusion – and soon – it may not be able to continue operations.

Fisker lost $762 million during the 12 months ending Dec. 31, the company reported Thursday.

The company makes the all-electric Ocean SVU. It had hoped to unveil the Alaska pickup truck and Pear compact, but that won’t happen unless deep pockets are found, Chairman and CEO Henrik Fisker told analysts.

The company announced in August 2023 that it planned to start production of the Pear at Foxconn’s plant in July 2025, and ramp up to manufacture 250,000 vehicles here. Fisker and Foxconn signed a preliminary production agreement in May 2022.

On Nov. 13, Fisker said he was “optimistic” that a final production agreement would be signed by the end of 2023.

It was not.

“On the strategic front, Fisker is in negotiations with a large automaker for a potential transaction which could include an investment in Fisker, joint development of one or more electric vehicle platforms, and North America manufacturing,” the CEO said Thursday.

“Current resources are insufficient to satisfy its requirements over the next 12 months [and Fisker] will need to seek additional equity or debt financing,” the company said in its earnings release. If these efforts fail, it cannot guarantee it will continue to operate.

In the meantime, Fisker said it will reduce its headcount by approximately 15% and streamline operations by reducing its physical footprint and overall expenses.

“2023 was a challenging year for Fisker, including delays with suppliers and other issues that prevented us from delivering the Ocean SUV as quickly as we had expected,” the CEO said. “We also encountered unexpected headwinds in our efforts to establish a direct-to-consumer sales model in both North America and Europe at the same time. There were a number of unanticipated challenges, including rising interest rates, finding enough skilled labor, and identifying appropriate real estate locations to make the direct-to-consumer model function effectively.”

Fisker noted his company is pivoting to a “dealer partner model [and has] received more than 250 indications of interest from dealers worldwide.”

This year the company said it expects to deliver more than 20,000 Oceans worldwide.

Pictured at top: A Fisker Pear prototype.

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