EV maker files for bankruptcy

Electric vehicle (EV) maker Fisker has filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States, blaming “various market and macroeconomic headwinds” for its demise.

Henrik Fisker, a former Aston Martin design chief, founded the company in 2016 after a previous venture, Fisker Automotive, also ended in bankruptcy in 2013.

The EV startup is the latest to collapse trying to challenge the established car industry, with companies such as Proterra, Lordstown and Electric Last Mile Solutions suffering the same fate in the past two years.

The company raised doubts about its ability to remain in business in February and was forced to rein in operations after it later failed to secure an investment from a large carmaker, reports Reuters.

“Like other companies in the electric vehicle industry, we have faced various market and macroeconomic headwinds that have impacted our ability to operate efficiently,” the company says. 

“After evaluating all options for our business, we determined that proceeding with a sale of our assets under Chapter 11 is the most viable path forward for the company.”

The US Chapter 11 process applies to the company’s operating subsidiary, Fisker Group Inc, protecting it from creditors while it tries to negotiate further.

Its bankruptcy filing shows the group has estimated assets of US$500 million (about NZ$810m) to US$1 billion and liabilities of US$100m to US$500m.

Fisker used an "asset-light” production model, which relied on contract manufacturers to assemble its cars and was meant to reduce development times for vehicles.

The company blamed supplier delays for missed production targets, struggled to hit sales forecasts and its Ocean SUV, pictured, was wrought with software and hardware issues.