Fisker Pear EV delayed as company seeks investment
The Pear hatchback is set to be Fisker's second electric model
Fisker in talks with unnamed car maker over potential investment; all future cars on hold until partnership secured
Fisker has paused development of its affordable compact EV, the Pear, amid talks with an unnamed car maker for investment into the cash-strapped company.
Fisker started rolling out deliveries of its Fisker Ocean electric SUV late last year but has struggled with cashflow amid a wider cooling off of investor confidence in pre-profit EV companies.
“Fisker is in negotiations with a large auto maker for a potential transaction which could include an investment in Fisker, joint development of one or more electric vehicle platforms and North America manufacturing,” CEO and founder Henrik Fisker told analysts during the company’s earnings call on Thursday.
He didn’t reveal which car maker was involved, but he did confirm that it wasn’t contract manufacturer Foxconn, with which Fisker has previously negotiated about manufacturing cars in North America together.
The negotiation effectively ended Fisker's relationship with Foxconn, Henrik Fisker said.
The company is focusing its remaining cash reserves on ramping up production of the Ocean, which is being built by contract manufacturer Magna Steyr in Austria, as well as rolling out further software updates for the car, he added.
“We are not planning to start external expenditure on our next projects until we have a strategic OEM [manufacturer] partnership in place."
Work was continuing on the Fisker Alaska electric pick-up truck, but chief financial officer Geeta Gupta-Fisker said continued development of that depended on the successful tie-up with the car maker.
“Any programs which are beyond the Ocean would only incur expenses if there's a strategic collaboration," she said.
Fisker lost $463.6 million in the fourth quarter of last year on revenues of $200.1m, the company said. It produced 10,193 Oceans and delivered 4900 across 12 countries and guided production of between 20,000 and 22,000 this year.
The company sold 144 Oceans in the UK in January.
Pear prototypes were planned to hit the road later this year, ahead of the first customer cars being handed over at the “very end” of 2025, Fisker said earlier this year.