Fisker has asked the judge overseeing its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings for permission to sell remaining Ocean electric SUVs to a leasing firm at a fraction of their original price, Reuters reported Wednesday.
The company hopes to offload 3,321 Oceans to American Lease at a price of $14,000 each, according to the report, which cites a court filing. On May 30, two weeks before Fisker filed for bankruptcy protection, American Lease had offered to buy 2,100 vehicles, according to the report, later upping the offer to the current number of vehicles, which reportedly represents all Ocean SUVs ready for sale.
2023 Fisker Ocean
The Ocean originally had a starting price of $38,999 for the base Sport grade, with Ultra and Extreme versions priced at $52,999 and $61,499, respectively. However, Fisker in March slashed prices by up to $24,000 and asked contract manufacturer Magna to pause production in order to drawn down inventory.
Ocean production started at Magna's facility on Graz, Austria, in November 2022, but deliveries didn't start until six months later. The first cars reached U.S. customers in mid-2023. Even that slow rollout didn't give Fisker time to address numerous quality issues with its first EV, though.
2023 Fisker Ocean
Fisker issued three recalls for the Ocean last month alone, including one for a "malfunctioning mechanism" that could cause exterior door handles to stick and fail to open. That recall includes 8,204 vehicles in the U.S., indicating the slow pace of deliveries.
Even as cash began running out in the final months before bankruptcy, Fisker continued discussing ambitious plans to shift to a franchised dealership model and launch additional EVs, including the more affordable Pear, the Alaskan pickup truck, and the Ronin convertible. A buyer with deep pockets could potentially revive those models.
