Fisker Faces Bankruptcy
Significant discounts on its electric vehicles
Discounts starting at $24,000 or more
American electric vehicle startup Fisker is expected to file for bankruptcy. Previously, there were rumors of a crisis due to a sharp decline in sales of Fisker’s electric vehicle Ocean. Fisker negotiated an agreement with Nissan to overcome the management crisis, but the negotiations ultimately fell through, and the stock price plummeted.
Fisker was delisted from the U.S. stock market, predicting a dark future. To deal with Ocean’s inventory before bankruptcy, Fisker began offering discounts of close to 40% from existing prices. Nevertheless, the response from consumers was cold.
Reduced to $24,999
It’s cheap, but who will buy it?
Fisker has offered a discount of up to $24,000 on the electric vehicle model Ocean compared to the existing price. The top trim price was reduced from $61,499 to $37,499. The base model’s price was reduced from $38,999 to $24,999. Although the lower prices attracted some consumers, most were skeptical about who would buy a car from a company facing bankruptcy.
If Fisker goes through bankruptcy, it will face difficulties in parts production and after-sales service, so if a vehicle is purchased at a low price and a breakdown or defect occurs, there is no way to resolve it. Nevertheless, many consumers are surprised that the mid-size crossover electric SUV is priced at $24,999 for the base model.
Once a Tesla Rival
Sales Plunged due to Defects
Even at the time of its release, Ocean emerged as a rival to Tesla Model Y. Ocean is equipped with an electric motor that produces a maximum output of 275 horsepower and provides a driving range of 402 km (250 miles) on a single charge. Although the specifications were excellent, there were many negative reviews from consumers who purchased the product. Sales plummeted due to software defects, and ride quality was evaluated as poor.
Since no groundbreaking move or launch of a new model could turn things around after Ocean, rumors of Fisker’s crisis continued to arise. As Fisker faces bankruptcy, trust in electric vehicle startups that have mushroomed since Tesla’s success is declining. As the growth of electric vehicle sales has slowed, companies such as Fisker, Lucid, and Rivian have begun to reduce their workforce by up to 15%.
What will happen to the electric car market?
Internal combustion engines become important again
Consumers gradually turned away from electric vehicles, so the European Union relaxed the Euro 7 emission regulations. It is a revival of internal combustion engine vehicles that had been predicted to be discontinued. Mercedes-Benz planned to launch 50% of its new cars as electric vehicles by 2025 but recently postponed this to 2030.
Another problem is that demand for electric vehicles is concentrated on Tesla. Tesla’s global market share in 2023 was 12.9%. It has recorded the highest sales in international markets, excluding China. After that, Volkswagen Group’s market share was 7.1%. With the future outlook not bright, attention is being paid to what strategies electric vehicle startups will develop.
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