Henrik Fisker stands with the Fisker Ocean electric vehicle after its unveiling at the Manhattan Beach Pier ahead of the Los Angeles Auto Show and AutoMobilityLA on November 16, 2021 in Manhattan Beach, California.
Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty Images
Electric vehicle start Fisker said Monday it spent less money in 2022 than it had planned, and remains on track to begin deliveries of its Ocean SUV this spring and build more than 40,000 vehicles in 2023.
Shares were up more than 24% in early trading Monday.
Fisker said to date 56 Oceans have been built at a manufacturing partner Magna International contract manufacturing plant in Austria. Fifteen of them were completed before the end of the year and are being used for testing by Fisker and Magna as the two companies refine the manufacturing process, test additional features and work through approval processes. regulations in the United States, Canada and Europe.
Report comes less than a week after electric vehicle starts Lucid And Nicholas disappointed with their production and delivery results.
Fisker previously said the Ocean would have a range of around 350 miles in higher trims, but CEO Henrik Fisker said Monday that early testing showed the Ocean had more range than expected.
“These results reinforce our expectation that, at launch, the Fisker Ocean will have the longest range of any SUV/Crossover priced under $70,000,” he said.
In base trim, the Ocean has around 250 miles of range and a starting price of $37,499; longer-range versions start at around $50,000.
Fisker expects to complete testing necessary for regulatory approval of the Ocean next month and ramp up production – and begin deliveries – in the second quarter. The company reiterated its previous production forecast – “up to” 42,400 vehicles in 2023 – “provided the supply chain meets our forecast and we receive [regulatory approval] in right time.”
Fisker had “about 65,000” reservations for the Ocean as of Feb. 24, up slightly from “over 62,000” when it reported third-quarter earnings in early November. Because it will be built in Austria, the Ocean will not qualify for new US government incentives for electric vehicles.
Fisker spent a total of $702 million in 2022, slightly below its guidance range of $715-790 million. The company had $736.5 million in cash remaining at year-end, including $57 million from its outstanding stock offering in the market in the fourth quarter of 2022. It currently plans to spend between 535 and 610 million dollars in 2023.
Fisker is targeting a positive gross profit margin of between 8% and 12% for the year and said it could also have positive earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, for the full year.
Fisker’s fourth-quarter net loss was $170.1 million, or 54 cents per share, on revenue of about $306,000. Both were below estimates: Wall Street analysts polled by Refinitiv had expected a loss of 42 cents a share on revenue of $2.5 million.
Fisker also said it has made progress on its second upcoming model, a lower-cost small electric vehicle called Pear, and remains on track to enter 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. The pear, which is expected to start at $29,900, will be built by Foxconn Technology Group at the former Lordstown Motors plant in Ohio starting in 2024.
