As part of a landmark sale in the Chapter 11 process, Fisker is asking a bankruptcy judge to approve selling more than 3,000 Ocean electric SUVs at about $14,000 apiece to a car-leasing company.
American Lease, a New York-based vehicle leasing company, has agreed to buy 3,321 electric SUVs from Fisker at a cost of $46.25 million, subject to court approval, according to documents filed in court on Tuesday.
Now, with financial tightness, extremely huge operational barriers, Fisker had to seek bankruptcy protection barely a month ago. The EV manufacturer turned towards a dealer-partner sales model at the beginning of 2021 after burning through vast financial resources in its attempts to market its Ocean electric SUVs.
The various models of the Ocean SUV were previously priced from around $70,000 downwards. But with the increasing pressure of financial stress, Fisker lowered its cheapest model to slightly below $25,000 just to obtain funds to assist in settling its debt.
On May 30, two weeks prior to filing for Chapter 11 protection, American Lease had agreed to purchase 2,100 Ocean EVs. In another deal a month later, the purchase agreement grew to cover all 3,321 ready-to-sell Ocean cars. American Lease is among the key service providers in the supply chain of leased and rented vehicles to rideshare drivers working in and around New York City. New York City regulations mandate the rideshare fleet must convert by 2030 to either zero-emission or wheelchair-accessible vehicles.