Fisker could beat Tesla to India with plan to launch Ocean EV

Fisker Inc is planning a launch in India, a move which could bode well for Australia given that, like India, both countries are right-hand-drive markets.

Fisker CEO and namesake Henrik Fisker spoke to Reuters in an interview in New Delhi last week, in which he revealed that his company could begin manufacturing its cars in India within a few years.

“Ultimately, India will go full electric,” Fisker told Reuters. “It may not go as fast as the US, China, or Europe, but we want to be one of the first ones to come in here,” Fisker continued, explaining that he expects EVs to become more commonplace in India by 2025-26.

Early mover to India EV market

Planning now to take the place of early mover to Indian EV sales should serve as a long-term benefit for Fisker, one of a handful of upstarts that want to rival Tesla’s electric vehicle throne.

Currently, EVs make up only 1% of India’s approximately 3 million annual car sales market – a slow shift caused by a lack of charging infrastructure and high battery costs.

However, India’s government is looking to increase this share to 30% by 2030 and is offering companies billions of dollars in incentives to build their EVs and set up supply chains locally.

Fisker isn’t the first EV company looking towards India, but it might be one of the first to make a proper go of it.

Tesla put its own plans to begin moving into the Indian market on hold earlier this year after it failed to secure lower import taxes on its vehicles.

Fisker plans to beat Tesla to India

Both Tesla and Fisker planned to import vehicles to test the waters in India before committing to local manufacturing.

While Tesla has put its own plans on hold, Fisker is expecting the premium pricing of its electric Ocean SUV to limit numbers, even as importing vehicles remains “very expensive”.

“Ultimately, if you want to have somewhat of a larger volume in India, you almost have to start building a vehicle here or at least do some assembly,” Fisker told Reuters.

While Fisker’s electric Ocean SUV will likely be priced well out of reach of most Indian buyers – given its existing retail price as well as logistics costs and a 100% import tax – the Fisker Pear city car might be a better bet, though not before 2026.

“If we can get that vehicle just below $20,000 locally in India, that would be ideal,” said Henrik Fisker. “Then I think we’ll get to a certain volume and market share,” adding that if they find the right local partner the timeline could be shorter.

But to set up a plant in India for Fisker Inc would require volume of at least 30,000 to 40,000 cars a year, and that setting up an Indian plant with annual production capacity of 50,000 cars would likely cost as much as $US800 million.