Fisker is one EV startup that few people consider a strong contender in the EV market. This doesn't stop its CEO Henrik Fisker from making bold statements about the company's prospects in 2023. Last year, Fisker produced 56 cars and delivered none to customers, but it somehow wants to deliver more than 42,000 cars this year.

Car startups face rough times in today's difficult market conditions, but Fisker thinks it can do better than others. Few people consider Fisker a strong contender to survive in the long term. Still, its CEO, Henrik Fisker, remains optimistic that his company will somehow be able to deliver more than 42,000 EVs by the end of the year. Fisker confirmed 65,000 reservations for its electric SUV Ocean, a slight increase from the 62,000 reported in Q3 2022.

Fisker's optimism came from lower-than-expected spending in 2022 and the Ocean deliveries being on track to begin this spring. The company is assembling the Ocean at Magna's contract manufacturing facility in Austria. Fifteen electric SUVs were completed before year's end, and they are used now for testing by both Fisker and Magna to improve the manufacturing process. Other 41 have been assembled in 2023, and Fisker expects to ramp up production once it completes the testing needed for regulatory approval next month.

Although the Fisker Ocean won't benefit from the IRA incentives because it's built in Europe, the electric SUV has a starting price of only $37,499. This is for the base trim, which has a projected EPA range of about 250 miles (440 km). Longer-range versions would also be offered, with prices starting at about $50,000. Fisker claims the Ocean could have "the longest range of any SUV/crossover priced below $70,000." Initially, Fisker said the longest-range Ocean would travel 350 miles (560 km) on a charge. Tesla Model Y, its main competitor, has an EPA range of 330 miles (530 km) and costs $54,990.

All these claims are considered too good to be true by analysts. Garrett Nelson from CFRA Research even calls Fisker's production target "borderline ludicrous given the struggles of EV peers and Fisker's production of 56 vehicles so far."

Considering the inflation and skyrocketing battery material prices, we'd say even Ocean's prices are hard to believe. Fisker is also working on PEAR, another crossover it says would sell for $29,900 starting in 2024. The PEAR would be assembled in the U.S. by Foxconn using the former Lordstown Motors factory in Ohio.

The bullishness doesn't stop here, though. Henrik Fisker said the price of its vehicles is the main factor in getting good results. He also forecasted that his company would report a gross margin range of 8-12 percent and positive earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) this year. This is another bold statement coming from the CEO of a company that reported higher-than-expected losses in Q4 2022. Its cash reserves are rather weak, at $736 million, barely covering the projected expenses for this year, estimated at $610 million.

Fisker said on Friday its electric vehicle deliveries jumped more than four-fold during the final quarter, helping it hand over about 4,700 vehicles for the year.

The rise in quarterly sales volume was primarily driven by strong demand for the Fisker Ocean SUV, priced at about $69,000, the company said.

Fisker started making its first deliveries to U.S. customers in June.

The company will announce a plan in January to boost sales and deliveries to align production capacity with strong demand for the Ocean SUV, Fisker said.

Shares of the California-based EV company were up more than 10% in premarket trading. They have lost about 79% so far this year.

Smaller EV firms are facing dwindling cash reserves, pressured by high costs related to production ramp-ups and price cuts to boost demand.

Fisker, which has a deal with Magna International's Austrian unit to manufacture its cars, made 10,142 vehicles in 2023.

The company, however, slashed its annual production forecast twice in the past two months as it slowed down production to meet working capital needs.

Fisker is in trouble. The electric vehicle startup announced earlier this month that it didn't have enough money to make it to December. The hope was that another company would swoop in and save it from eventual bankruptcy—but those talks have fallen apart.

According to regulatory paperwork filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday—as first reported by Reuters—Fisker wasn't able to strike a deal with potential suitors. "The large automaker" involved in initial talks "terminated the negotiations." Fisker was reportedly in discussions with up to five automakers.

One of the biggest names attached to a potential Fisker investment was Nissan—a brand eager to get more EVs on the road—although that was never officially confirmed. According to an earlier report from Reuters, Nissan's biggest interest was the electric Alaska pickup, with a reported $400 million on the table toward production of the truck at one of Fisker's US plants.The Fisker Alaska debuted last year in concept form promising 340 miles of range in the US and a $45,000 starting price. The range-topping dual-motor, all-wheel-drive model reportedly had 550 horsepower while the base version had 275 horsepower. It was expected to go on sale in the US sometime this year.

Fisker is now forced to look for alternate options to stay afloat. The document notes that the company "continues to evaluate strategic alternatives.” That could include business restructurings in court or stock buybacks. Speaking of—Fisker’s stock dropped 28 percent on the day of the announcement and trading was halted. The New York Stock Exchange will soon delist the stock entirely.

Thus far, Fisker has reduced its workforce by 15 percent in an attempt to cut costs. Many of those jobs were in sales as the company switches from direct-to-consumer sales to a traditional dealer model. The company has reportedly signed 13 dealer partners in North America and Europe, with an ambitious plan to deliver around 20,000 Ocean SUVs worldwide in 2024.

We’ll see where the next few months take Fisker, but the future doesn’t look promising.

Fisker has been on the brink of collapse for several months, and now the inevitable has happened. Late Monday, the troubled EV manufacturer filed for bankruptcy protection after running out of money. The company claims it has assets worth anywhere from $500 million to $1 billion but also liabilities of $100 million to $500 million.

According to the court filing in Delaware, where Fisker filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the company estimates it has between 200 and 999 creditors. In a statement, Fisker said: "Like other companies in the electric vehicle industry, we have faced various market and macroeconomic headwinds that have impacted our ability to operate efficiently. After evaluating all options for our business, we determined that proceeding with a sale of our assets under Chapter 11 is the most viable path forward for the company."