US automaker Fisker is the latest brand to hit a significant milestone and bring an all-electric SUV into production. The first Fisker Ocean SUV has now gone into production at the contracted manufacturer, Magna Steyrās carbon-neutral production facility in Graz, Austria.
āItās an emotional day as we start production of the worldās most sustainable vehicle in record time ā on time ā in the carbon-neutral factory in Graz,” Fisker CEO, Henrik Fisker said.
“Weāve challenged the old model of longer development timelines, reflecting our teamās agility and dedication to creating emotionally desirable vehicles with the newest, most unique, experience on our price range.ā
According to Fiskerās Q3 company report, the Ocean EV has more than 63,000 reservations. The 2023 Sport and Ultra variants of the SUV are sold out in the US. The production of the first Ocean SUV can only be good news for many of those order holders.
All lined up for #FiskerSOP š§”šš Just one week to go#Fisker #EVs #CleanFutureForAll pic.twitter.com/XLtTiDSCov
— Fisker Inc. (@FiskerInc) November 10, 2022
Fisker aims to produce 300 EVs in Q1 2023 and ramp it up to 8,000 units in Q2. It aims to lift the last two quarters’ production to be around 15,000 units bringing the total annual production to 42,400 EVs.
The aim for Fisker has been to deliver EVs that are relatively affordable yet different in comparison to most traditional manufacturers. The base model of the EV starts at $37,499 USD which should qualify for the $7,500 tax credit for customers in the US.Ā
Having said that, there is a newer version of the tax credit act known as the Inflation Reduction Act thatās under development which may not be applicable, given the Ocean is being produced in Austria and not in the US which is one of the actās key requirements.
The details of the IRA are still to be firmed up and Fisker will be watching this space closely.
The top-of-the-range Ocean EV will have a range of over 550 km combined with a dual-motor AWD powertrain. It will also feature a 17.1-inch rotating screen along with SolarSky roof technology. This model would come in at $68,999 USD or just over $103,000 AUD. Currently, details for a right-hand drive variant are limited but we will be watching this space closely.
A video from Fikerās YouTube channel highlighting the Fisker Ocean manufacturing process:
RizĀ is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.