Henrik Fisker stands with the Fisker Ocean electric vehicle after it was unveiled at the Manhattan Beach Pier prior to the Los Angeles Auto Show and AutoMobilityLA on November 16, 2021 in Manhattan Beach, California.
Patrick T Fallon | AFP | Getty Images
Electric vehicle startup Fisker said Monday it spent less than expected in 2022 and remains on track to begin deliveries of its Ocean SUV this spring and build more than 40,000 vehicles in 2023 .
Following the news, shares rose about 9% in premarket trading.
Fisker said that to date, 56 Oceans have been built at manufacturing partner Magna International’s contract manufacturing facility in Austria. Fifteen of these were completed before the end of the year and will be used for testing by both Fisker and Magna as the two companies refine the manufacturing process, test additional features and undergo regulatory approval processes in the US, Canada and Europe.
The report comes less than a week after EV startups Lucid and Nikola were not thrilled with their production and delivery results.
Fisker previously said the Ocean would have a range of about 350 miles in top spec, but CEO Henrik Fisker said Monday early testing showed the Ocean had a longer range than expected.
“These results reinforce our expectation that the Fisker Ocean will have the longest range of any sub-$70,000 SUV/crossover at launch,” he said.
In base configuration, the Ocean has a range of about 250 miles and a starting price of $37,499. Longer range versions start at around $50,000.
Fisker expects to complete testing needed for Ocean’s regulatory approval next month and ramp up production — and begin shipping — in the second quarter. The company reiterated its previous production forecast – “up to” 42,400 vehicles in 2023 – “provided the supply chain delivers according to our forecast and we receive.” [regulatory approval] punctual.”
Fisker had “about 65,000” reservations for the Ocean as of Feb. 24, up slightly from “over 62,000” in its third-quarter earnings report in early November. Because the Ocean will be built in Austria, it won’t qualify for the US government’s new incentives for electric vehicles.
Fisker spent a total of $702 million in 2022, slightly below its guidance range of $715 million to $790 million. The Company had $736.5 million in cash at year-end, including $57 million raised from its ongoing stock offering in the fourth quarter of 2022. It currently expects to spend between $535 million and $610 million in 2023.
Fisker is targeting a positive gross profit margin of between 8% and 12% for the year, and said it could potentially post positive full-year earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) as well.
Fisker’s fourth-quarter net loss was $170.1 million, or 54 cents a share, on revenue of about $306,000. Both came close to estimates: Wall Street analysts polled by Refinitv had expected a loss of 42 cents a share on sales of $2.5 million.
Fisker also said it’s made progress on its upcoming second model, a lower-cost small electric vehicle called the Pear, and it remains on track to go into production next year.
The company said it now has “over 5,600” reservations for the pear, up from “over 5,000” reservations in early November. Expected to start at $29,900, the Pear will be built by Foxconn Technology Group at the former Lordstown Motors factory in Ohio beginning in 2024.