Fisker pauses production, with glut of undelivered EVs

Fisker has paused production of its Ocean electric SUV for six weeks as it seeks to draw down inventory and secure additional financing.

To the funding point, Fisker confirmed Monday that it has secured “a financing commitment from an existing investor” of up to $150 million.

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The company has about 4,700 vehicles in inventory worth about $200 million, according to the same company statement. The production pause at contractor Magna’s Graz, Austria, factory is intended to give Fisker time to sell some of these vehicles.

Fisker Ocean

Fisker shipped roughly 5,000 of 10,000 vehicles produced by Magna in 2023, and claimed to have delivered roughly 1,300 in January and February of this year. The company, which has pointed to supplier issues as the reasons for the Ocean’s slow rollout, gave that model’s top trim level a $7,500 price cut in October 2023.

Fisker also said Monday that it had just $121 million in cash and cash equivalents on hand as of March 15, $32 million of which is restricted or not immediately accessible, according to TechCrunch. With an accounts payable balance of up to $182 million, Prior to the additional funding, Fisker reportedly told regulators that there is “substantial doubt” that it can avoid bankruptcy without raising new capital, after raising similar concerns in a filing last month.

Fisker Ocean

Fisker said in a statement that it also remains in negotiations with another automaker about a strategic partnership that could include an investment. A report earlier this month pointed to Nissan as the potential partner, with the deal reportedly including a $400 million investment toward developed of the Fisker Alaska pickup truck. Nissan would also reportedly manufacture the truck and get its own derivative.

It is also attempting to pivot from a direct sales model to franchised dealerships, and in its statement released last week said that the leadership team is “laser-focused on these efforts”—referring both to that, and to the negotiations for the strategic partnership. But as TechCrunch points out, at least one of the first dozen-or-so Fisker dealers that signed up has already come and gone.