EV wars: US start-up Fisker hopes to crack Chinese market with Ocean SUV, a potential rival to Tesla’s Model Y

The company, founded by Danish car designer Henrik Fisker, said in a statement on Thursday that the “Fisker Lounge” showroom will be located on downtown Taicang Road, and the all-electric Ocean sport-utility vehicle (SUV) – a potential rival to Tesla’s bestselling Model Y – will be available in China soon.

The company said it is planning to open several showrooms in mainland China that will all be located in popular retail locations where consumers can experience the Fisker brand and get a closer look at its vehicles.

The carmaker is already selling the Ocean SUV in the US and Europe. Last month, the 5,000th Ocean rolled off the production line at contract manufacturer Magna Steyr’s plant in Graz, Austria.

In June, Fisker’s top managers visited China to meet government officials and business leaders in Shanghai to discuss collaboration and opportunities, the company said in a statement in June.

“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,” the CEO said at that time.

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The Ocean SUV starts at US$37,499 in the US, and competes with the entry-level version of Tesla’s Shanghai-made Model Y, which is priced at 263,900 yuan (US$36,114).

Unlike drivers in Western markets who tend to prioritise mileage when they consider buying an electric car, Chinese motorists have a strong penchant for intelligent features such as voice-activated controls, facial recognition, over-the-air software upgrades, phone-linked features and self parking capability.

In April, UBS ­analyst Paul Gong forecast that deliveries of pure electric and plug-in hybrid cars in China will jump by 55 per cent to 8.8 million units this year.

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The EV start-up, founded in 2020 by e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding, owner of the Post, SAIC Motor, the country’s largest home-grown carmaker, and state-backed property operator Shanghai Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park Development, said it will also build a pure-electric sedan similar to Tesla’s Model 3, in the first half of 2024 to appeal to wealthy Chinese consumers.

Tesla’s Gigafactory in Shanghai delivered 12 per cent fewer vehicles in September as the electric-car giant upgraded the facility ahead of the launch of a revamped Model 3.

The factory in Shanghai’s Lingang free-trade zone delivered 74,073 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in total last month, including exports, down from 84,159 units in August, according to the China Passenger Car Association.