Currently reading: New Fisker Ocean electric SUV revealed with 300-mile range
American start-up plans to produce more than 1 million units globally between 2022 and 2027

American start-up Fisker has revealed its Ocean electric SUV, a Tesla Model Y rival with a claimed range of 300 miles and what it calls "immersive in-cabin features".

Making its debut at CES in Las Vegas, the Ocean is said to be fully production-ready, with the first units expected to be completed at the end of 2021. Additionally, Fisker claims to have secured "a strategic global and localised supply chain - which includes critical components such as batteries" and expects to produce more than 1 million examples between 2022 and 2027. 

The Ocean will be offered primarily to customers through a leasing programme, with prices starting from $379 (£295) per month, after a deposit of $2999 (£2335), for the cheapest of the five trim levels. Prospective customers can pay a fully refundable $250 (£194) deposit now via Fisker's smartphone app to secure a reservation. There's no indication yet as to whether the Ocean could come to the UK. 

A "very limited" number of Oceans will be sold outright at the request of several global customers, with prices starting from $29,999 (£22,825) in the US after application of federal electric vehicle incentives.

Fisk3

The Ocean will be available in two and four-wheel drive form, with an electric motor mounted on each axle. Specific powertrain details remain unconfirmed, but the 0-60mph sprint is said to be dispatched in 2.9sec. An 80kW battery pack is claimed to provide a range of up to 300 miles

The SUV rides high and has modern, utilitarian styling. Flared wheel arches hint at its performance potential, while narrow headlights and chrome detailing are a nod to the 2018 Fisker Emotion concept. It features what the firm calls “captivating design touches that have been traditionally reserved for supercars in the past”.

Prominent design details include a front-mounted radar in place of a grille, a large front air intake, flared wheel arches and a futuristic headlight design. Fisker has also confirmed that the side indicators double as charging indicators, turning green when the battery is full. 

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Also featured is a targa-style removable roof section that Fisker says offers the open-air benefits of a convertible "without compromising the rugged and safe structural integrity of an SUV".

Inside, the SUV features a minimalist dashboard layout with a brightly lit central display and touch-sensitive control panel. Trademark features include a so-called 'California Mode', which opens all windows and the glass roof panel at the touch of a button, and a karaoke function similar to that rolled out by Tesla in 2019. 

Fisker claims the Ocean is "the world’s most sustainable vehicle", with recycled, vegan and other natural products used throughout. The full-length solar roof is said to offer 1000 additional zero-emissions miles per year, while recycled fishing nets, t-shirts, bottles and tyres feature throughout the interior and exterior to lessen the model's well-to-wheel carbon footprint.

A partnership between Fisker and charging firm Electrify America will give Ocean owners access to a network of 350kW rapid chargers, which are compatible with all mainstream electric vehicles (EVs) and capable of delivering more than 200 miles of range in as little as 30 minutes. The network is currently under development; it plans to be operating in 45 of the 50 American states by December 2021. 

The Ocean is also claimed to offer "the highest five-star safety rating", with Fisker drawing attention to the prominent side impact protection beams. It's unclear, however, whether the SUV has yet been tested by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which conducts crash tests in the US.

Fisker is also at work on developing solid-state battery technology, which it says would allow future electric vehicles to gain 500 miles worth of charge in as little as one minute. 

Fisker Inc. was formed in 2016, succeeding the bankrupted Fisker Automotive company that launched the Karma range-extender luxury saloon – now re-engineered and on sale as the Karma Revero GT – in 2011. The brand plans to launch two new additional models on the Ocean's platform, although it has given no dates for their unveilings. 

Felix Page

Felix Page
Title: News and features editor

Felix is Autocar's news editor, responsible for leading the brand's agenda-shaping coverage across all facets of the global automotive industry - both in print and online.

He has interviewed the most powerful and widely respected people in motoring, covered the reveals and launches of today's most important cars, and broken some of the biggest automotive stories of the last few years. 

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Comments
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Hughbl 28 November 2019

It's pretty

I'll be interested to hear how it performs and whether Fisker's claim for it are fact or fiction.

Peter Cavellini 27 November 2019

Topic.....?

Talk about the car, the design, this is a car site not a cheap gossip site!

scotty5 31 October 2019

Is the meaning of detail "something without a tale?"

Headline says "Affordable electric SUV detailed"

And then when I read the article...    they don't know performance details, don't know the spec, they don't even know where the car is going to be built.

I must check my dictionary because that's not my understanding of detail.

And then too suggest a 500mile range can be charged in 1 min.  Pipe Dream perhaps, but certainly not in anyway 'detailed'.