Fisker declares bankruptcy in Austria, production has stopped

There’s a increasing consciousness Fisker is circling the drain, with the automaker’s Austrian part filing for bankruptcy extortion overnight.

In a connection Fisker said its Austrian limb has “voluntarily filed to unfastened a restructuring proceeding via self-administration”.

Business publications suggest this play of self-administration is akin to Chapter 11 bankruptcy extortion successful the US.

The automaker claims this determination volition let Fisker Austria to wage employees, arsenic good arsenic “continue delivering its vehicles to customers to the grade possible, providing service, and updating its over-the-air software”.

At the opening of the week Magna Steyr, the Austrian declaration shaper that builds the Ocean crossover for Fisker, confirmed to Automotive News it had laid disconnected 500 workers astatine its works successful Graz.

Magna said this was successful portion owed to accumulation of the Ocean being officially “idled” since March. The manufacturing intermission was enacted to let Fisker to wide remaining stocks of the electrical crossover, which has precocious been discounted by US$24,000 ($36,500).

A speedy hunt connected Fisker’s website shows plentifulness of cars disposable with prices chopped from astir US$62,000 ($94,200) to astir US$38,000 ($57,800).

In a caller net call, Magna CEO Swamy Kotagiri said, “Our existent outlook issued contiguous assumes nary further accumulation [of the Fisker Ocean]”.

A clutch of different cars, including the BMW 5 Series, Jaguar E-Pace, and Jaguar I-Pace volition besides extremity their accumulation runs astatine Graz by the extremity of 2024.

Originally Fisker and Magna were looking to physique 23,000 Oceans each year. In 2023 Magna built astir 10,000 Oceans.

In its April filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Fisker said that it had astir US$50 cardinal ($76 million) successful currency connected hand, and it had missed a caller indebtedness outgo deadline. The institution warned it mightiness spell retired of concern wrong 30 days if it cannot find much backing oregon an investor.

Fisker besides sent a “conditional notice” to its US employees stating they whitethorn suffer their jobs by extremity the June if rescue efforts don’t succeed.

At the extremity of March, Nissan reportedly pulled retired of talks to swoop successful and prevention Fisker. Under that plan, Nissan was to person invested US$400 cardinal ($608 million) successful Fisker, arsenic good arsenic manufacturing the Fisker Alaska ute and a Nissan spin-off astatine 1 of its North American factories.

If Fisker, arsenic a whole, slides into bankruptcy it volition beryllium the 2nd clip an automaker founded by car decorator Henrik Fisker has gone under.

His erstwhile venture, Fisker Automotive, which made the Karma plug-in hybrid sedan, went bust successful 2013, and its assets were sold to Chinese automotive supplier Wanxiang, which rebranded the conveyance arsenic the Karma Revero.

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