CEO Henrik Fisker wanted his EV startup, which just got kicked out of the New York Stock Exchange, to be different from others. Like Apple\u2019s novel approach of outsourcing the job of putting its gadgets together to Foxconn, Henrik Fisker wanted to do the same with Austrian manufacturer Magna Steyr. And he did<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n But now, none of that may matter because Fisker faces an altogether different challenge\u2014possible bankruptcy.<\/p>\n What went wrong with the Danish auto designer\u2019s eponymous company?<\/p>\n The California-based Fisker launched in 2016, after its founder\u2019s former startup called Fisker Automotive folded a few years earlier.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the time, Fisker said he was hoping to invest in new tech that helped his company develop rapidly while making affordable all-electric SUVs<\/a>. A challenger to the market-leading Tesla, if things went well.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the meantime, as the EV craze was beginning to catch fire, Fisker managed to gather the interest of investors looking to foray<\/a> into the space. Although Fisker came with top-notch design expertise, he also had a complicated history given his first failed startup. But his new company looked promising<\/a> in the clutter of EV and EV-adjacent companies that were rushing to get a slice of the action in the late 2010s.\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2020, the company went public<\/a> via a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (or SPAC) on the New York Stock Exchange. At the time, the company projected revenue of $13 billion<\/a> by 2025 (it was pre-revenue in 2020).<\/p>\n Bringing Fisker\u2019s concept to market was the next ordeal. A slew of software, supply chain and regulatory problems meant the company\u2019s first model, the Fisker Ocean, didn\u2019t start delivering its cars until a year<\/a> ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some of Fisker\u2019s problems ring true for the entire EV industry as demand slows, price competition increases and investor interest wanes. Several EV industry players have folded because of these headwinds, including Arrival and Lordstown. But Fisker\u2019s strategic decisions\u2014including pivoting to a dealership network from a direct-to-consumer model\u2014have only made matters more complicated to fix given the current EV climate.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\nLaunch and early years<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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