Boutique automaker Fisker today announced its plan to launch the Ocean, a sustainable and affordable all-electric SUV, in 2022, following the January 2020 unveiling of a fully functional prototype.
The Fisker Ocean makes a number of big promises: its maker says it will boast between 400 and 480 km of driving range from an 80 kW battery, which will be bolstered by a solar roof that will provide 1,600 "free (and) clean" kilometres of driving every year.
Fisker says it won't announce Ocean pricing until November 27, but photos made available to the media by download were delivered in a folder called "40k EV," which suggests the company has a USD$40,000 starting price in mind.
You may know the Fisker name from the Karma plug-in hybrid sport sedan of the early 2010s. Fisker Automotive folded about a year after that car's 2012 launch, and was reborn as Fisker Inc a few years later.
Today's announcement follows Fisker Inc's electric SUV teasers earlier this year, plus the company's aspirations to roll out three more EVs, including a pickup truck.
Fisker Inc claims the Ocean will be the most sustainable, high-volume vehicle in the world: the interior will have carpeting made from fishing net waste; vegan, low-VOC surfaces made of polycarbonate polyurethane and rayon; upholstery made from recycled t-shirts, bottles and other plastics; and Fisker says it will divert rubber waste from the tire manufacturing process from landfills (but doesn't say how that material will be used).
Measuring 4,640 mm in length, the Fisker Ocean will be sized similarly to a Ford Escape or BMW X3, placing it in the popular compact crossover class and helping fulfill the company's mandate of "driving the global movement toward mass electrification." Other design cues include a sealed hood, part of Fisker's mission to cut costs by eliminating the need for latches, seals and hinges. That space will be home to "new-age" electronics and air conditioning components, where they won't impinge on cabin space.
Fisker is taking an unconventional approach to bringing its latest model to market. It's skipping the customary industry practice of first revealing the car as a concept. Instead, when Fisker previews the Ocean in a private, live-streamed event on January 4, 2020, the car will be presented as a fully operational prototype built on the same platform as the production model.
Fisker Ocean drivers will have access to the car through a mobile app-based flexible lease program designed to eliminate long-term ownership commitments and cover all service and maintenance costs.
Fisker will announce Ocean pricing on November 27 and launch the mobile app through which early adopters can begin placing orders.
