Struggling US EV start-up Fisker will pause production for six weeks in a move which the company says will allow it "to align inventory levels and progress strategic and financing initiatives."
The firm also announced it has raised a further $150mn in capital from an unnamed existing investor in the form of convertible notes.
Funding will be organised in four tranches and is being provided by the holder of the company’s 2025-dated convertible notes, the automaker says.
With another round of capital raised and the planned six-week production pause, Fisker appears to be minimising its cash burn and relying on its inventory to meet current demand for its vehicles.
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The automaker is facing potential bankruptcy amid dwindling cash levels, and last week issued an official 'going concern' – an indication that the company may not be able to continue operating.
Earlier this month the company received a noncompliance notice form the New York Stock Exchange because its stock was below the minimum required price.
However, management has said for a number of weeks that it is in the middle of ongoing negotiations with a "strategic OEM partner" – widely rumoured to be Japan's Nissan – over a deal that would see a large investment in Fisker, and possibly the joint development of a new EV platform.
Fisker now appears to be relying on the completion of this negotiation in order to avoid bankruptcy.
Fisker has delivered around 1,000 EVs in the US in 2024 so far, but inventory has piled up over the previous months as it has struggled to deliver vehicles.
"The company has approximately 4,700 vehicles in its currently inventory, carried over from 2023 and including 2024 production. While it has not completed an NRV (net realisable value) analysis for 2024, Fisker believes the completed vehicle value for its inventory as of March 15, 2024, is in excess of $200mn," a Fisker statement says.
The company has made a series of moves to prop up it balance sheet recently, including converting $185.5mn of debt held by an unnamed institutional investor into equity in late January.
Ciaran has written about finance, politics and culture. He is passionate about e-mobility and what it means for our way of life.
Ciaran has a Masters in Ancient Philosophy from Oxford University.
