Henrik Fisker, CEO of Fisker Inc., has announced a deal reached with Volkswagen that allows him to use the German company’s MEB architecture to build the all-electric Ocean crossover. While it seems like the platform is going to turn up everywhere before long, the deal hasn’t actually been made official.
Neither Fisker nor VW feels comfortable saying the arrangement had been finalized.
But that couldn’t contain Henrik’s excitement. The Fisker Inc. founder was on social media this week proclaiming the upcoming Ocean would start at just $29,999. Mathematicians will notice this is less than $30,000 and actually pretty damn cheap for an electric crossover, especially one that’s supposed to contain so much luxury and sustainability (the latest in a long line of empty terms used by the industry). The series of 9s at the end of Fisker’s proposed pricing should have tipped you off that there might be some light shenanigans afoot.
A seasoned car salesman, he neglected to note that the price given actually includes the available federal tax credit. The real price will be $37,499, which isn’t new information.
Still, it’s not a bad price if this thing is all its cracked up to be. Fisker certainly seems excited and we know Volkswagen Group doesn’t have many issues with sharing its MEB architecture. It’s already spread liberally throughout its own subsidiaries and will be used by Ford to underpin numerous electric vehicles over the next few years.
Based on an investor presentation foreshadowing the partnership, Fisker’s arrangement with Volkswagen may also include battery packs and ancillary components — helping bring the Ocean to market more quickly and at a lower cost than if company attempted to fly solo. Though one wonders why anyone would bother getting one, when it sounds like it will basically be a badge-engineered VW.
“Volkswagen is still open to support small series projects that demonstrate the variety of conceivable concepts based on the MEB platform through their emotional appearance,” a spokesperson for Volkswagen said in an email to The Verge in reference to its investor presentation.
“In consultation with Volkswagen, the Audi subsidiary Italdesign has now used the MEB platform as the basis for the development of the Fisker Ocean SUV. However, a final decision has not yet been made about a possible cooperation with Fisker to implement a series project.”
We just hope it doesn’t use a single line of Volkswagen’s coding. The German company seems to have serious issues in getting some of its newest models to behave, forcing it to unleash at least one EV onto the market half baked. While a fix is supposedly forthcoming, selling a product that’s effectively broken from Day One is an embarrassment.
[Images: Fisker]
“…one wonders why anyone would bother getting one, when it sounds like it will basically be a badge-engineered VW”
Exactly. I’m surprised VW would be willing to sell anything to this charlatan.
As for the proliferation of the MEB platform, a future story will be about the recall of millions of cars across many brands for a common fault. I’m not suggesting that’s inevitable, but VW is really taking a risk here. Perhaps it’s their way of achieving the economies of scale they need to compete with Tesla.
Fiskie was on Tweater proclaiming VW as the #1 quality mfgr in the auto universe….now I understand why. Although he was dissing Tesla which is a pretty low standard to compare to. Those Model Ys look like the stuff that rolled out of GM Tarrytown in the early 80s.
So an ID.4 clone that looks somewhere between a Range Rover Evoque and a 2002 Saturn Vue, but with worse build quality and unknown long term (or for that matter, short term) support?
That Fisker name isn’t exactly confidence inspiring, and at that price I doubt you’ll get much “luxury experience” to make up for all the shortcomings.
Is this the Fisker Ocean that was supposedly production-ready, and slated for a Q3 2020 rollout? And they haven’t even finalized the platform?
Wow.
A platform isn’t like the pretty box you put the product in; it’s the integral backbone of the car. And, with MEB being as much an electrical architecture as a structure, it affects key aspects of this electric crossover that, apparently, isn’t as developed as it was purported to be.
What a snake-oil salesman.
All of these new electric vehicle companies, and this includes Lordstown Motors (what a horrible name) and Rivian, all have vehicles whose production is perpetually eminent. Perpetually eminent and perpetually delayed in 6 month increments. None of this crap will ever come to market. But people are just like bass. You can dangle the same artificial bait in front of them over and over again and they’ll bite it and set the hook every time.
Hell, you can still put down a reservation on one of those Elio Motors 3-wheeled death traps. They’ve only delayed production since 2012 and nothing has changed. But it’s actually the safest vehicle ever conceived – you can’t die in a vehicle that will never exist.
People are like bass: you can dangle the same artificial bait in front of them over and over and over and they take it and setvthe hook every time. They never n
So it won’t say “Body by Fisker” on the sill plate?
The only way the sub $30K could happen is if it equipped like a base model 1950 pick up truck. No head liner, no arm rest or sun visor. Rubber mat on the drivers side and range of 20 miles. It’s hard to find a sub $30k RAV-4 or CRV without the electric.
“Volkswagen is still open to support small series projects that demonstrate the variety of conceivable concepts based on the MEB platform through their emotional appearance,”
Does anyone have any idea what this is supposed to mean? I’ve read it several times and I can’t figure it out.
It means they are open to the idea of selling skateboard chassis to coachbuilders, the way Rolls Royce and Hispano-Suiza used to. Whether or not Fisker can pull it off is a separate question.
@qwerty shrdlu,
I guess you’re right, but I still can’t get my brain around the “through their emotional appearance” part of it.
@Old_WRX,
I’m guessing, “assuming it’s sufficiently differentiated from what we build while not looking like a total trash”
VW doesn’t want to risk their newest baby platform on partners building a cheap VW knockoff or otherwise hurt its reputation.
How did Fisker get another car company called Fisker? Who would loan him any money?
I remember back around 1994, I was in high school, a buddy of mine had what I believe was an ’85 Quantum. I took special interest because I drove an ’86 Audi 5000S, and recognized the Quantum as basically a slightly downmarket Audi 4000. I remember it being a decent car when he first got it. Next time I saw it, not long after, it didn’t run anymore and seemed to never run again. It was weird.