- Financial Strain: Over half of Fisker’s pre-orders since November 2019 have been cancelled, further impacting their cash flow.
- Production Issues: Delivery delays and defects have plagued the Ocean since its launch in June 2023, leading to scathing reviews.
- Price Cuts: In a bid to boost sales, Fisker recently slashed Ocean prices by up to 39%, hurting profit margins.
Fisker sees its challenges mounting up, with new reports now indicating that its well of reservation holders is drying up. Over 40,000 reservations for the automaker’s Ocean electric crossover have been canceled.
That amounts to more than half of the over 70,000 reservations it accumulated since it started accepting pre-orders in November 2019. In a recent, seven-day average, the company was losing 70 to 80 reservations per day.
That’s according to internal metrics seen by Business Insider and adds another big problem to the pile of growing problems for the automaker, which is in desperate need of cash. Customers had to pay $250 to reserve a Fisker, but are entitled to most of their money back if they cancel.
Reservations for Fisker vehicles are fully refundable, apart from a $25 processing fee. It’s not clear how many reservations the company has repaid but, in total, the company could have to return as much as $9 million to customers who have canceled their orders.
Fisker did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Alongside the canceled reservations, a few thousand customers have also withdrawn their orders. This poses less of a challenge for Fisker, given that the $5,000 deposit isn’t fully refundable, and the company retains the transportation fee if the vehicle is already in the delivery process.
It’s indicative of the dire situation the startup is facing. To date, Fisker has delivered over 6,000 Oceans since shipments commenced in June 2023. However, many of these deliveries have been plagued by defects, leading to scathing reviews of the new EV.
As a result of its troubles, the automaker recently decided to slash prices for the Ocean by as much as 39 percent in a bid to boost sales. However, financial difficulties loom large over the company, which may have lost its grip on a lifeline after bailout talks with an established automaker fell through, a failure that may have cost it an additional $150 million from a third investor. The company says it is still investigating its strategic alternatives.
