American electric automaker Fisker announced plans to start selling its flagship Ocean SUV in China by launching a domestic delivery center as early as this year, with delivery plans in Q1 2024.
Notably, the announcement came after the company’s leadership team traveled to China to meet with government officials and business leaders in Shanghai. They apparently talked about prospective partnerships and investments in the region, focusing on “automotive supply chains, logistics, warehousing, and future production development.”
Expansion plans
CEO and Chairman Henrik Fisker asserted that the automaker aims to establish a presence in China as it expects the world’s largest auto industry to be prosperous in EV technology.
“After beginning deliveries in Europe and with first vehicles coming to our US customers on June 23, we are excited to move into the Chinese market later this year.
We expect China to be an important growth market for EVs in the future and believe our vehicles will be very appealing. That is why we established an office there and intend to open a delivery center this year.
Henrik Fisker, Chairman and CEO
CEO Fisker further indicated plans to start domestic production in the East Asian country.
“I believe we can get production up and running in China as early as next year, potentially adding capacity of 75,000 Fisker Oceans annually.”
Henrik Fisker, Chairman and CEO
Why China?
China board member Daniel Foa discussed the company’s benefits in the Chinese market during Fisker’s annual shareholder meeting on June 6.
Mr. Foa emphasized that China accounts for a third of vehicle sales worldwide, with about 26 million cars in 2022. Of that total, 6-7 million were EVs, representing 25% of the market. He further noted that EV’s market share had grown about 27% this year to date.
Another point he mentioned is that “the premium and affordable luxury segment is growing faster than general segments.” He claims the automaker perfectly suits that category, given its “unique history, features, and design.”
“China has always had a high acceptance of high-quality traditional international automotive brands.
There has been a rapid shift to electrification both from government policies and consumer behavior. Fisker is one of only two EV only international companies which are viable alternatives to traditional brands. This will enable us to be on the short list for consumer purchase decisions but with a more feature-rich product. As a new international EV brand, this presents a vast opportunity for Fisker in China.”
China board member Daniel Foa
See Also:
- Fisker Ocean wins the ‘Green SUV Of The Year 2023’ award from Green Car Journal
- Fisker to begin Ocean EV deliveries in spring, targets 40,000-unit production in 2023
- Fisker partners with ChargePoint for public charging solutions in North America
- Fisker is set to start production this month with a lofty target
- Fisker & Wallbox partners for home EV charging
Unfortunately, Fisker has not yet disclosed the location of its new delivery center in China. Nonetheless, the automaker expects the facility to start deliveries in the first quarter of 2024. Even better, CEO Henrik Fisker gave the impression that Ocean production would eventually expand to China.
