Fisker is still a long way from meeting CEO and founder Henrik Fisker Publicly stated goal 300 electric SUVs are delivered daily globally, according to internal documents seen by TechCrunch.
The electric vehicle startup spent most of December aiming to meet an internal sales target of 100 to 200 vehicles per day in North America, where the bulk of its inventory and sales efforts are located. Fisker fell well below that goal, often selling between one and two dozen Ocean SUVs a day here, according to the documents, provided by a source who was granted anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.
Fisker delivers its SUVs in a number of European countries, and contract manufacturer Magna Steyr manufactures them in Austria. However, the North American market was the startup’s priority from the beginning. The company did not respond to a request for comment.
Internal numbers help explain why the company does this announced Thursday It is looking to partner with dealers to sell its all-electric Ocean SUV in the United States — a change in strategy from the direct-sales-only model that Fisker has championed since going public in 2020. The documents also contradict the company’s ongoing assertions of “growing demand,” This is what she claimed in a press release on Thursday.
The startup had plans to open showrooms across North America as part of its direct sales model, but has only opened two flagship “Fisker Lounges” so far. Henrik Fisker He told the Wall Street Journal Thursday that the lack of a physical footprint has hurt sales here.
Fisker isn’t alone in struggling to find demand for its electric cars. Creating a brand and gaining market share has been a challenge for every new entrant into the market. Lucid in particular has repeatedly admitted that the biggest hurdle it faces after entering production is marketing its luxury sedan. Even Rivian deliveries fell by 10% in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Formerly Fisker claimed It shipped more than 1,200 SUVs worldwide in October, and on November 16 it said that hiring A “new milestone” of 107 deliveries in one day, with the success attributed to “the implementation of a new distribution strategy”. It struggled to maintain or meet that pace through December, documents show.
The slow pace of deliveries has widened the gap between the quantity of Fisker Ocean SUVs produced by Magna and the number sold. Friday, Fisker open Magna built 10,142 Oceans last year and only 4,700 Oceans were delivered.
Magna began production in November 2022 and Fisker did not begin deliveries until June 2023, which also contributed to closing this gap. Software problems on older cars contributed to the delay; Fisker also cited an issue with one of its suppliers as a reason for the slower-than-expected rollout.
Fisker entered the year claiming Magna would produce 42,400 Ocean SUVs, a number it said it increased in late 2022 due to strong demand in the U.S. and Europe.
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Instead, Fisker repeatedly lowered that number in 2023, eventually announcing on December 1 that Magna would only make about 10,000 total for the year to allow the startup to free up working capital. Even after this significant decline, Henrik Fisker publicly maintained his confidence, saying in a statement that his company continues to “accelerate sales and deliveries.”
The company said last week that the “majority” of the 4,700 vehicles sold last year were top-tier Ocean One models. The first unit of the affordable model, the Ocean Sport, recently shipped to its first customer in the UK