Fisker Ocean to Utilize VW's MEB Platform… Probably
Henrik Fisker, CEO of Fisker Inc., has announced a deal reached with Volkswagen that allows him to use the German company’s MEB architecture to build the all-electric Ocean crossover. While it seems like the platform is going to turn up everywhere before long, the deal hasn’t actually been made official.
Neither Fisker nor VW feels comfortable saying the arrangement had been finalized.
But that couldn’t contain Henrik’s excitement. The Fisker Inc. founder was on social media this week proclaiming the upcoming Ocean would start at just $29,999. Mathematicians will notice this is less than $30,000 and actually pretty damn cheap for an electric crossover, especially one that’s supposed to contain so much luxury and sustainability (the latest in a long line of empty terms used by the industry). The series of 9s at the end of Fisker’s proposed pricing should have tipped you off that there might be some light shenanigans afoot.
A seasoned car salesman, he neglected to note that the price given actually includes the available federal tax credit. The real price will be $37,499, which isn’t new information.
Still, it’s not a bad price if this thing is all its cracked up to be. Fisker certainly seems excited and we know Volkswagen Group doesn’t have many issues with sharing its MEB architecture. It’s already spread liberally throughout its own subsidiaries and will be used by Ford to underpin numerous electric vehicles over the next few years.
Based on an investor presentation foreshadowing the partnership, Fisker’s arrangement with Volkswagen may also include battery packs and ancillary components — helping bring the Ocean to market more quickly and at a lower cost than if company attempted to fly solo. Though one wonders why anyone would bother getting one, when it sounds like it will basically be a badge-engineered VW.
“Volkswagen is still open to support small series projects that demonstrate the variety of conceivable concepts based on the MEB platform through their emotional appearance,” a spokesperson for Volkswagen said in an email to The Verge in reference to its investor presentation.
“In consultation with Volkswagen, the Audi subsidiary Italdesign has now used the MEB platform as the basis for the development of the Fisker Ocean SUV. However, a final decision has not yet been made about a possible cooperation with Fisker to implement a series project.”
We just hope it doesn’t use a single line of Volkswagen’s coding. The German company seems to have serious issues in getting some of its newest models to behave, forcing it to unleash at least one EV onto the market half baked. While a fix is supposedly forthcoming, selling a product that’s effectively broken from Day One is an embarrassment.
[Images: Fisker]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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How did Fisker get another car company called Fisker? Who would loan him any money?
I remember back around 1994, I was in high school, a buddy of mine had what I believe was an '85 Quantum. I took special interest because I drove an '86 Audi 5000S, and recognized the Quantum as basically a slightly downmarket Audi 4000. I remember it being a decent car when he first got it. Next time I saw it, not long after, it didn't run anymore and seemed to never run again. It was weird.