We saw the Fisker Ocean at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this year and on several other occasions, so we know it’s a real, substantial vehicle that should go into production later this year as planned. Now the company is requiring people who have already reserved theirs to shell out an additional $5,000 if they want to make sure to secure one of the limited edition One models - this does not apply to those Ocean order holders who are not interested in the special launch version.
This seems to have come out of the blue and it is certainly unusual given that people have already paid to put their name down for an Ocean (whose starting price is just under $38,000), although Fisker did reach out to us to make it clear this only affects people who want the Ocean One, and that people will still receive their non-special edition vehicles without the extra $5,000. The automaker explains this is the actual opening of pre-orders for the Ocean and that this is the sum required to secure a vehicle. According to Fisker,
Only 5,000 Launch Edition Fisker Ocean Ones will be made. Fisker is inviting select groups of reservation holders to commit to securing their Fisker Ocean One by making a $5,000 non-refundable pre-order deposit.
Gallery: Fisker Ocean at Goodwood FoS 2022
Electrek says it got hold of an email sent by Fisker to reservation holders in which the automaker stated that
Select Fisker Ocean One to confirm your choice of a Launch Edition Fisker Ocean One. Production starts in November 2022. Delivery timing will be dependent upon your pre-order date and delivery location. We expect all deliveries of the Fisker Ocean One to occur by end of September 2023. At this time, Fisker is only confirming pre-orders for the Launch Edition Fisker Ocean One.
So even though production of the Ocean will officially kick off in Austria in November, it will be almost another year until vehicles actually start reaching customers. However, we will have to wait and see if the company actually manages to meet this deadline, given the fact that they are outsourcing the building of the car to Magna-Styer.
And while the connection with this manufacturer that has built lots of high quality models for other automakers (including the I-Pace electric crossover for Jaguar), the fact that Fisker is asking for this much money for a pre-order and making the deposit non-refundable just won’t allow us to have full confidence in this venture. The Fisker Ocean seems like a great electric crossover with lots of unique features, but we’ll still reserve judgment for until after it actually goes into production and starts reaching actual customers.
