Fisker makes deal with Magna to make the Ocean electric SUV

Fisker, Henrik Fisker’s new EV startup, has reached a deal with automotive giant Magna to make the Ocean electric SUV.

After the original Fisker Automotive went bankrupt, the assets of the defunct EV startup were purchased by a Chinese interest who relaunched the company and its Karma (now Revero) plug-in hybrid.

A few years later, Henrik Fisker won the right to use his name again and launched a new EV startup.

In 2018, the startup unveiled their new EMotion all-electric vehicle with the claim of a 400-mile range on a single charge.

Unlike the first Fisker electric car, which was dependent on a battery system from A123, they are claiming that they developed their own battery technology for their new vehicles.

Fisker claimed a solid-state battery “breakthrough” for electric cars with “500 miles range and 1-minute charging” that would come to market on an aggressive timeline.

Later, they have walked back some of those comments and said that their first production vehicle from the new EV startup would actually be equipped with regular li-ion battery cells.

Earlier this year, the famed car designer unveiled another prototype, the Fisker Ocean, an electric SUV that they claim would be their first production vehicle after unveiling several different prototypes.

Now Fisker has shifted strategy and announced they are partnering with Magna to build the Ocean electric SUV:

As part of Magna’s strategic direction to support traditional automakers as well as new entrants, the company announced today that it has signed agreements with Fisker Inc. that provide the framework for a platform sharing and manufacturing cooperation for the Fisker Ocean SUV. Fisker, an e-mobility automaker, announced plans to start production in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Swamy Kotagiri, President of Magna, commented on the announcement:

We are very happy to be able to work with Fisker on such an exciting, sustainable product and to see what additional opportunities this cooperation may bring. This is a great example of our strategy to leverage our strong portfolio to scale for future mobility needs and utilize our full vehicle engineering and manufacturing capabilities. This is a unique competitive position for us, particularly with new mobility players and OEMs seeking to expand their electrified offerings.

In the announcement, they confirmed that the Fisker Ocean will “initially be manufactured exclusively by Magna in Europe” and it will be built with “Magna’s EV architecture combined with the Fisker-Flexible Platform Adaptive Design (FF-PAD).”

Fisker has been taunting a price of just $30,000 for the Ocean electric SUV.

Electrek’s Take

I have very little faith in Fisker after some really shady practices, like sock-puppeting, and the fact that they made some wild claims about batteries that are most likely inaccurate.

But this might be the best thing for them.

Fisker has always been a great designer, and now this deal looks like Magna would take care of the manufacturing and engineering, while Fisker would mostly be in charge of the design and everything after the car is produced.

What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below.