Fisker Ocean One BEV Ready For Production

From Southern California to Scandinavia, Fisker’s battery-electric Ocean One prototype SUVs can be seen on roadways across the globe as part of the company’s testing and validation phase. Henrik Fisker, founder, chairman and CEO of Fisker, says production of the Ocean One is on track to start Nov. 17 at Magna’s carbon-neutral factory in Graz, Austria. The contract assembler and supplier already has built 55 prototypes to conduct powertrain, ADAS and safety tests.

The Fisker Ocean starts at $37,499 with a higher-priced, top-of-the-line and limited launch edition, the Fisker Ocean One, selling out in less than 30 days. Currently, Fisker has more than 60,000 paid reservations worldwide. Ocean One’s Extreme trim is expected to follow the initial production run.

The automobile designer and entrepreneur launched the Fisker Karma in 2008, a premium plug-in hybrid vehicle. Several years later, he founded Fisker Inc., a separate e-mobility and technology company based in Southern California. The company is focused on developing long-range electric vehicles. These include the Ocean SUV, the Fisker PEAR urban lifestyle BEV expected to be built by manufacturing partner Foxconn in Lordstown, OH, from 2024, and the Fisker Ronin luxury sports car.

Henrik Fisker

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“Our mission is to bring to life the next generation of electric vehicles to meet the challenges of range and cost,” explains Fisker. “We're revolutionizing the mobility industry by developing the most emotionally desirable and exciting electric vehicles complemented with the longest range and shortest charging times.”

Wards recently spoke with Fisker about the Ocean One’s production plans and unique features of the BEV.

WARDS: What prompted the decision to have Magna manufacture the Fisker Ocean?

FISKER: We are on an incredibly difficult journey that has never been done. That is designing and developing a vehicle in just more than two years. One of the biggest hurdles in the automotive industry is high-volume automotive manufacturing. It is a little presumptuous for a company to think they can build a new factory, manufacture a car with new technology with people who have never built a car and think they can make it as good as some of the traditional OEMs who have spent decades figuring this out.

One of the things I found very attractive working with Magna on our first vehicle is that the company has experience manufacturing high-quality vehicles. This is a very important part of Fisker’s business model of how to get the Ocean on the road fast and satisfy not only the customer demand for an exciting electric vehicle, but also to live up to quality expectations and be on time with production.

Time is money. It’s important to be on the market when you promise. We also have access to microchips because Magna is the fourth-largest supplier in the world. I think a lot of our suppliers feel comfortable knowing that we are working with Magna. We are currently going through the testing typical OEMs undergo. We just completed hot-weather testing earlier this year and conducted winter testing in northern Sweden.

WARDS: Can you share some of the unique features of the Ocean?

FISKER: When we launch a new vehicle, we like it to have at least four unique features or a feature that is best in class. For example, the Ocean currently has the longest range of any SUV in its class, with 350 miles/630 km on a single charge. The SolarSky roof provides the ability to use the sun to generate free energy to support the Ocean’s battery-powered motor. When fully exposed to sunshine, the Ocean Extreme’s SolarSky is projected to produce 1,500-2,000 miles/2,400-3,200 km of energy per year.

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Another high-performance feature is Smart Traction, which allows the Ocean to perform more like a sports car rather than an SUV. It improves stability and traction on wet and icy roads and minimizes energy loss, so it’s eco-friendly.

It was important for Fisker to use sustainable materials in the construction of the interior upholstery and carpet to help lower the carbon footprint. As a result, the eco-friendly interior is crafted from recycled plastic and other upcycled materials.

The fourth feature we incorporated is the PowerBank system, which utilizes the battery as multi-function mobile power. With this technology, the battery can act like an emergency power source to run a home for up to seven days and allow you to connect your charge port to another EV for an emergency boost. Two of the Ocean’s top models are built with California Mode where eight glass panels open to transform the SUV into the feel of a convertible. We’ve also developed the Revolve 17.1-in. (43-cm) rotating center touchscreen to watch movies and videos, and the Park My Car automatic parking assist system.

When you buy a vehicle, the technology is often three years old or more. In the Ocean One, it’s as new and modern as your smartphone because we picked the technology last year. At Fisker, we want to keep pace with your smart devices and the connectivity and technology consumers use.

WARDS: What type of batteries will be used in the Ocean vehicles?

FISKER: We’ve partnered with CATL, the world’s largest battery manufacturer in China, which will provide two different battery solutions for the Ocean. These include the lithium-ion phosphate (LFP) battery “Touring Range” for our entry-level Ocean Sport model, and the lithium nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery, “Hyper Range,” which provides long range for the mid-level Ocean Ultra and fully loaded, top-of-the-line Ocean Extreme. Both battery packs will support charging of more than 250kW.

WARDS: How will the vehicles be sold, delivered and repaired?

FISKER: Fisker vehicles will be on display at showrooms around the world, which we call Fisker Experience Centers. This is where customers will have an opportunity to talk to Fisker specialists, and test drive and reserve the EVs. Some of the first locations will open in November and include Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Miami, Munich, London, Copenhagen, Vienna, Paris and Oslo. We see ourselves as a digital car company, so the entire purchase process is online.

There are three ways to have vehicles delivered. Customers can opt for home delivery for a fee or pick up the vehicle at a specific delivery center outside a big city. For example, there will be one outside Vienna and another outside Copenhagen. Our strategy is to set up large delivery centers outside big cities to minimize costs and deliver hundreds of cars every day very quickly.  The third option customers have is to pick up their vehicle at some of the Experience Center lounges that will offer that service.

For service repairs, our first line of defense is to determine if something can be done over the air. If the vehicle needs to be brought in for work, mobile technicians will be available. We’ve also partnered with large service centers, such as Bridgestone in the U.S. and Europe, and Mekonomen Group in Scandinavia.

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