The cash-strapped US electric car startup Fisker is stopping production of its Ocean model. Production at the contract manufacturer Magna in Graz will be interrupted for six weeks, the company announced on Monday.
Fisker previously owed $8.4 million in interest on convertible notes. The company explained that it had consciously decided to default in order to gain time for negotiations with investors. Enough money for the interest would actually have been available. However, the company’s cash had shrunk to $120.9 million by Friday – less than a third of what was available at the end of last year. New convertible bonds with a volume of up to $150 million are now expected to bring new money into the coffers Fisker sold at a discount to the Polish investment fund CVI Investment, according to mandatory filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Fisker has been in financial trouble for some time and is preparing for possible bankruptcy, according to a report. It is now said that negotiations are currently underway with a car manufacturer about a collaboration. According to insiders, it is Nissan from Japan. Most recently it was said that an agreement could be signed during the month. Only a quarter of the planned production The company, which was founded by the Danish car designer Henrik Fisker, has long been feeling that selling the vehicles is proving to be more difficult originally planned. Added to this is the overall cooling demand for electric cars. The original plan was to produce 40,000 vehicles a year in Graz, but last year it was only 10,000.
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