Fisker, a California-based electric vehicle startup, has lowered its annual production guidance in an effort to free up $300 million in working capital, the company said in a business update on Friday.
Fisker said it expects to produce about 10,000 vehicles this year. The decision comes less than a month after Fisker reduced its production target to between 13,000 and 17,000 vehicles for 2023. The production guidance is only a quarter of Fisker’s bullish forecast from last year. In November 2022, Fisker said it plans to produce 42,400 Ocean SUVs by the end of 2023 due to strong demand in the United States and Europe. This rosy forecast was lowered in May to 32,000 to 36,000 vehicles and then lowered again in August to 20,000 to 23,000 vehicles. This latest update makes four cuts since spring.
The production cut will allow the company to access $300 million in working capital, giving the company “flexibility,” according to the business update.
“Our teams have worked hard to overcome some early delivery challenges and are now achieving an impressive pace as we prepare to wrap up 2023,” Henrik Fisker, Chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “We may not have met our original expectations, but taking into account current market conditions and negative sentiment around electric vehicle sales, I would say we are doing very well, as we continue to accelerate sales and deliveries. This is generating significant revenue as we ramp up our business. I expect by the end of this We have delivered more vehicles to customers than any Western electric vehicle startup has done in its first year of delivery. The company continues to increase its focus on growing its existing markets and enhancing our Fisker Ocean sales and service offerings.
Fisker said In updating his work It also launched a new strategy to improve deliveries in the US and Europe, which helped it overcome early logistical hurdles. While Fisker didn’t explain exactly what those challenges are, the strategy appears to include adding more logistics carriers to speed up deliveries, increasing outreach to reservation holders and opening more facilities dedicated to retail, delivery and services.
The company said it would also launch a leasing program in the United States, Canada and Europe, but did not include details about when that might happen.
Fisker also provided an update on hiring, most importantly Dan Quirk as the new Executive Vice President of Finance and Accounting. The hiring comes after Fisker lost two top accounting executives in a short period and delayed filing its quarterly earnings report with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Other appointments include Axel Bohr as Vice President Finance and Control Operations, Ram Iyer as Senior Vice President of EE Integration and Validation, and Wolfgang Hoffmann as Country Manager in Canada, where Fisker is about to begin deliveries.