New York-based American Lease finalized the acquisition of approximately 3,300 Fisker Ocean electric SUVs destined for the US market. The company stands to score big on the deal, but it also wants to help individual customers out. Here's what's going on.
Henrik Fisker tried to achieve something memorable in the auto industry but failed - for the second time. Investors, employees, and customers were all left hanging, but most accepted the company's doomed fate long before this transaction was in the works.
Some could say that the signs were always there, but the aspiring carmaker had serious manufacturing plans for the US market. Many considered Fisker to be the next Rivian. Unfortunately, the Alaska pickup truck, the PEAR crossover SUV, and the Ronin limited-edition supercar aren't happening any longer. That's what happens when management doesn't have a clear strategy for the future, and there's no strong company culture.
Maybe Magna Steyr or Foxconn might attempt something in this regard. Sadly, we're almost certain that no one's going to resurrect these interesting projects.
Alas, the Delaware court cleared the transaction between Fisker and American Lease. The latter is one of New York City's largest auto rental companies and gets to buy all the remaining Oceans, which should be around 3,300 EVs. It paid approximately $14,000 per vehicle. But that's not all it has gotten for spending over $40 million.
Around 1,000 units can still be found in some dealer lots. Middlemen tried to help Fisker and hoped to make a profit, but the now-bankrupt company ruined their plans when it announced that it would offer remaining employees the chance to buy a fully loaded Ocean for just $20,000 - over three times less than what early supporters paid for the limited-edition One.
American Lease assured owners via a post on Reddit that it would help them with access to parts and technical and mechanical support, even though its business model isn't about dealing with retail customers. Still, American Lease is confident that it will be able to deal with the NHTSA recalls and ship the promised over-the-air software updates.
Photo: Fisker
It's already working on providing former Fisker technicians access to the proprietary diagnostic program. That's possible thanks to the aforementioned deal, which included the company's software in addition to the cars. Keep in mind that all the final details of the agreement between Fisker and American Lease haven't been made public at the time of writing.
While there's some hope for individual Fisker Ocean owners, it's worth mentioning that American Lease just scored a great deal. No other brand would have sold them brand-new EVs for such a low price. What's even better for the company is that it also gets complete access to very complicated software and can make some serious bucks off people who needed Fisker to survive. They can sell parts and software updates at a premium.
The positives don't stop there, though. NYC has forced companies with for-hire-vehicle licenses to upgrade their fleets. By 2030, they must all be all-electric or gas-powered but wheelchair accessible. American Lease met that requirement six years earlier with minimum spending. And since they now control the software and can keep in touch with existing Ocean owners, bringing forward only the best updates is going to be a breeze.
"There is much to build, learn and figure out in the coming days, but we will accomplish all that needs to be,"said American Lease.
Fisker, as imagined by its ambitious but somewhat narcissistic and stubborn founder, is now history.
Car shows on TV and his father's Fiat Tempra may have been Florin's early influences, but nowadays he favors different things, like the power of an F-150 Raptor. He'll never be able to ignore the shape of a Ferrari though, especially a yellow one. Full profile
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