Dive Brief:
- Electric vehicle startup Fisker is adopting a new dealership partner sales model to expand its delivery and sales network, the company announced in a press release Thursday.
- The new model will offer customers no-haggle pricing on Fisker vehicles where permitted, the company said.
- Fisker expects to have 100 dealer locations in North America and Europe. The company expects its first dealer partners to receive the Fisker Ocean SUV by the end of Q1 2024.
Dive Insight:
Fisker has been in discussions with potential dealers since late November and plans to offer its partners larger market territories to reduce local competition and avoid price wars. The company plans to have all its initial dealer partners in place when its first high-volume vehicles hit the market.
Like Tesla and Rivian, Fisker originally planned to sell its vehicles directly to customers as part of its asset-light strategy to reduce costs and make its EVs more affordable. Before the dealer partner announcement, the company planned to open a global network of Fisker Lounges serving as retail spaces where customers could experience the Ocean SUV in person, have questions answered and place an order.
The company has already opened four lounges in Los Angeles, New York City, London and Munich. Fisker plans to keep its current lounges open and refer customers to one of its nearby dealer partners to finalize the sale.
Outside of North America, Fisker will continue to offer direct sales but will bring on sales and distribution partners.
“We are evolving our business model and intend to add as many as 50 dealer partners in the US and Canada and a similar number of dealer locations in Europe this year,” Fisker CEO Henrik Fisker said in a press release. “In keeping with our asset light strategy, I expect the Dealer Partnership model should enable Fisker to expand its sales and delivery network at a faster pace.”
Fisker said it would work with its dealer partners to provide excellent customer service. The dealers will also provide Fisker customers with customer support and vehicle servicing needs, along with test-drive opportunities. Fisker’s dealer partners will also handle vehicle financing, insurance and warranty claims.
As a startup competing with more established automakers and EV-only companies like Tesla and Rivian, Fisker sold a limited number of Ocean SUVS in 2023. The company built 10,142 Ocean EVs in 2023 with contract manufacturer Magna International in Graz, Austria. To date, it has delivered 4,700 vehicles to customers.
The first Fisker Ocean One launch edition models are priced at $68,999 in the U.S. The company plans to launch its second EV in 2025, called the Pear, with a targeted price of $29,900 before incentives.
