Fisker claims in its filing that it has between $500 million and $1 billion in assets and $100 million to $500 million in debt. According to court filings, the company has up to 999 creditors.
In a statement, Fisker said: "Like other companies in the electric vehicle industry, we have faced various market and macroeconomic headwinds that have impacted our ability to operate efficiently. 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."
Background to Fisker's bankruptcy
The fact that Fisker was doing poorly had been known for some time. In late February, the company warned that it could run out of money within the next 12 months. However, that has happened in just four months. The company delivered just 4,929 vehicles in 2023, despite spending $904.9 million on operations and investment. Production of the Fisker Ocean electric crossover was halted at contract manufacturer Magna Steyr's plant in Austria in mid-March 2024.
Later in May, Magna International CEO Swami Kotagiri and CFO Pat McCann assumed that production would not resume. That assumption turned out to be correct. Magna Steyr had to cut 500 jobs because of the cessation of production of Fisker cars.
The previous bankruptcy of the previous Fisker company
This is not the first time a company founded by Henrik Fisker has gone bankrupt. Fisker Automotive, the original company that created the Fisker Karma hybrid car, filed for bankruptcy in November 2013. That car still exists in a slightly updated design and is sold by another company, Karma Automotive, owned by Chinese auto parts supplier Wanxiang Group. The latter acquired the assets of Fisker Automotive for $149.2 million in a bankruptcy auction about 10 years ago.
Sources: Reuters, Automotive News
