Fisker's Troubles Deepen as Thousands of Reservation Holders Cancel

Chris Teague
by Chris Teague

Fisker’s on the ropes, but hits keep on coming. The upstart automaker recently warned that it could face bankruptcy and said that its negotiations with another automaker for a potential investment had fallen through. Business Insider recently reported on leaked documents that show Fisker’s troubles are deepening, as the EV maker has seen tens of thousands of order cancellations since its troubles became glaringly public.


The publication reported that more than 40,000 of the more than 70,000 Fisker reservation holders had canceled, averaging 70 to 80 per day in recent weeks. While these aren’t full-on orders, the reservation holders are due to receive their $250 deposits back, less a $25 fee. That could cost the automaker millions at a time when funds are at a premium. BI said that Fisker had a few thousand orders canceled, and the automaker’s website says it will retain the $5,000 order deposit if the delivery process has begun.


Fisker cut prices on the Ocean SUV, with some versions selling for as little as $25,000. That has tanked values of vehicles already on the road, as Edmunds reported that its long-term test vehicle, which it purchased for more than $69,000 earlier this year, had dropped in value by almost 70 percent after the price changes.


The Fisker Ocean is a significant risk, even at the lower price point. If the company goes under, finding parts, getting repairs, and receiving software updates will become extremely difficult or impossible in some cases. That said, the Ocean might be more valuable than $25,000 in parts for enterprising buyers with some technical knowledge.


[Image: Fisker]


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Chris Teague
Chris Teague

Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.

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  • Zipper69 Zipper69 on Apr 02, 2024

    Weren't they huddled with Toyota a while back ?

    • Dukeisduke Dukeisduke on Apr 03, 2024

      No, they tried to get a manufacturing agreement with Nissan.


  • Rick T. Rick T. on Apr 02, 2024

    “How did you go bankrupt?” Bill asked. “Two ways,” Mike said. “Gradually and then suddenly.” Ernest Hemingway’s 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises.

  • Probert They already have hybrids, but these won't ever be them as they are built on the modular E-GMP skateboard.
  • Justin You guys still looking for that sportbak? I just saw one on the Facebook marketplace in Arizona
  • 28-Cars-Later I cannot remember what happens now, but there are whiteblocks in this period which develop a "tick" like sound which indicates they are toast (maybe head gasket?). Ten or so years ago I looked at an '03 or '04 S60 (I forget why) and I brought my Volvo indy along to tell me if it was worth my time - it ticked and that's when I learned this. This XC90 is probably worth about $300 as it sits, not kidding, and it will cost you conservatively $2500 for an engine swap (all the ones I see on car-part.com have north of 130K miles starting at $1,100 and that's not including freight to a shop, shop labor, other internals to do such as timing belt while engine out etc).
  • 28-Cars-Later Ford reported it lost $132,000 for each of its 10,000 electric vehicles sold in the first quarter of 2024, according to CNN. The sales were down 20 percent from the first quarter of 2023 and would “drag down earnings for the company overall.”The losses include “hundreds of millions being spent on research and development of the next generation of EVs for Ford. Those investments are years away from paying off.” [if they ever are recouped] Ford is the only major carmaker breaking out EV numbers by themselves. But other marques likely suffer similar losses. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/fords-120000-loss-vehicle-shows-california-ev-goals-are-impossible Given these facts, how did Tesla ever produce anything in volume let alone profit?
  • AZFelix Let's forego all of this dilly-dallying with autonomous cars and cut right to the chase and the only real solution.
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