There's an old proverb that says it's better to be a dog in times of tranquility than a human in times of chaos.
Electric vehicle start-ups haven't been seeing much in the way of tranquility lately as they struggle to bring their cars to market.
Companies like Lucid (LCID) and Rivian (RIVN) have been burning through a lot of cash and Reuters reported that Lordstown Motors (RIDE) said it was suing its partner, Foxconn, for not following through on promised funding.
Fisker (FSR) missed Wall Street's first-quarter forecasts last month and cut its production forecast for this year to between 32,000 and 36,000 units, down from an earlier forecast of 42,000 vehicles.
On June 6, the L.A.-based startup said it had signed a deal to sell emission credits to an unnamed major automaker.
A number of electric-vehicle makers, including Tesla (TSLA), have been selling credits earned for exceeding emission and fuel economy standards to other automakers that fall short.
Getting Production Up and Running
Last month CEO Henrik Fisker said the company was exploring collaboration with other companies to scale up market share.
"Buyers aren't loyal anymore to their traditional brands,” Fisker said at the Reuters Automotive Conference in Munich. “That changes everything. If we collaborate with someone, you can scale quicker ... it could be with suppliers, other car companies, tech companies - we are exploring all these avenues.”
Fisker
Now the company is said it plans to open a delivery center in China this year and begin deliveries of the Fisker Ocean SUV in the first quarter of 2024.
"We expect China to be an important growth market for EV's in the future and believe our vehicles will be very appealing," Fisker said in a June 9 statement. "That is why we established an office there and intend to open a delivery center this year."
Fisker said he believes the company can get production up and running in China as early as next year potentially adding capacity of 75,000 Fisker Oceans annually.
The company, which set up the China office last year, said its executives recently visited the country and engaged in what it described as "productive discussions with officials and business leaders in Shanghai."
World's Largest Auto Market
China is the world's largest auto market, representing one-third of global sales, and China board member Daniel Foa said that electric vehicles year-to-date represent a 27% share.
"China has always had an high acceptance of higher quality traditional international automotive brands," he said. "There has been a rapid shift to electrification both from government policies and consumer behavior."
However, recent news reports indicate that more than 80% of the electric cars sold there last year were made by domestic automakers.
The market share of China’s domestic car companies rose to 52% in the last quarter of 2022, from 47% the year before, largely on a huge rise in electric vehicle sales.
Meanwhile, Fisker recently announced that it would start deliveries of the Fisker Ocean in the U.S. on June 19.
The next model line, the U.S.-built Pear crossover, will start at $29,990 and will be shown for the first time on Aug. 3 in Los Angeles.
