Fisker targets further delivery progress

California EV maker Fisker is aiming to accelerate more the pace of its delivery processes and is eyeing expansion into export markets, after the company delivered less than a quarter of the vehicles it produced in the third quarter.

And the importance of prompt delivery of finished vehicles is emphasised by the company is reducing its production guidance to “just over 10,000 for 2023” in order to “to prioritise liquidity to unlock over $300mn of working capital”.

In a business update, Fisker says it has nearly finished delivering launch edition Ocean One models in the US and is setting its sights on the Canadian and European export markets, as well as consolidating its retail presence in the US.

“The company has executed a new strategy to optimise deliveries in the US and Europe, overcoming early logistics hurdles and sustaining an increasing pace of deliveries. On Thursday 30 November, Fisker had 123 vehicles either delivered or in transit to customers,” the automaker says.

This comes after the company admitted having trouble delivering vehicles, the only downside to an otherwise strong Q3, management said, as CFO Geeta Gupta-Fisker reported that “neither our production nor demand are limiting our deliveries, but rather it is the delivery and the service infrastructure”.

“We may not have hit our original forecast but taking current market conditions and negative sentiments around EV sales into account, I would say we are doing quite well, as we continue to accelerate sales and deliveries. This is yielding considerable revenue as we ramp up our business,” the company’s eponymous CEO Henrik Fisker now says.

The company says it has opened its fourteenth delivery and service location, as part of a wider plan to expand its retail presence in urban EV sales hubs. The automaker continues its rapid hiring of retail and sales staff to these services, and has also announced that it has added “multiple transportation logistics partners” to oversee Fisker Ocean EVs being moved to local delivery locations.

And as Fisker consolidates its US market position and churns through its order book, expansion into further markets is on the cards for the firm. The automaker announced that it has “now achieved all required approvals and licenses, and satisfied insurance requirements, to sell vehicles in Canada”, adding that it “will commence transporting vehicles from US ports to Canadian customers next week, making deliveries in December”.

And the company’s highly touted partnership-first strategy is bearing fruit in this space as Fisker says it has “partnered with Scotiabank for financing and look forward to growing our presence in this important market”.

In addition to the Canadian market, the firm has also begun delivering Ocean Extremes and Ultras in Europe, saying that its objective is “to convert reservation holders to orders in 2023 while preparing to maintain this process into 2024”.

Fisker is expecting an uptick in fleet orders in 2024 and says that it is adjusting its 2024 outlook in anticipation a flurry of “import requests” to meet this demand. Part of this strategy, the firm says, is launching leasing solutions for the US, Canadian, and European markets, although it says “specific announcements are forthcoming.”