Fisker takes 4,000 reservations for budget EV

Fisker takes 4,000 reservations for budget EV

Automotive News Europe — 2022-08-08

Automotive Industry

Fisker has taken 4,000 reservations for the Pear electric compact car, which is scheduled for production in 2024, company founder Henrik Fisker said.

The car will feature an innovative wraparound windshield that the company previewed in a new teaser picture of the Pear.

The Pear's starting price will be less than $30,000, Fisker has promised.

The compact will join Fisker's debut model, the Ocean midsize electric SUV, which is set to go into serial production on 17 November, Fisker said during an earnings call last week.

The Ocean will be made in Graz, Austria, by Magna International's contract manufacturing unit, Magna Steyr.

The Pear, meanwhile, will be built in the US by Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn at a former General Motors' plant in Lordstown, Ohio. Foxconn completed the purchase of the factory in May.

The Pear, which is short for Personal Electric Automotive Revolution, will be underpinned by new Fisker-developed platform called SLV1 that's “all about reducing parts and cost,” Fisker said on the call.

“We can get a super exciting vehicle on the road with high technology without spending it on platform stamping and complicated structures,” he added.

He said the Pear will feature “truly revolutionary electrical architecture” with central computing systems replacing multiple electronic control units.

The wraparound windshield “is difficult, but will make it” into production, Fisker said.

He projected his company will build a “minimum” of 250,000 Pears annually once the Lordstown plant reaches full capacity.

Ramp-up of the Pear will be much tougher than the Ocean given Foxconn and Fiskers' limited vehicle production experience.

Foxconn, best known for making Apple's iPhone, last year showed off two electric concepts it said it would build for new automotive customers, one of which will be for Yulon Motor of Taiwan.

Fisker's partnership with Magna Steyr for the Ocean has ensured an outwardly smooth path to production for the first vehicle from the company, which was established in 2016. Fisker said Magna had built 55 prototypes ahead production of the car in November.

Fisker has 56,000 reservations for the car, and 5,000 pre-orders, for which customers paid non-refundable deposits, Fisker said. The first variant of the SUV to be built will be the Ocean One launch model, which starts at $68,999.

The more affordable Ocean Sport, which starts at $37,500, will be available from the third quarter of 2023, Fisker said.