Fisker (FSR) to Sell Ocean Electric SUV in India; Aims for Local Production

According to a weekend Reuters report, American electric vehicle startup, Fisker Inc. (NYSE: FSR) will begin selling the company's Ocean electric SUV in India next July. According to the company's CEO, Henrik Fisker, the electric automaker could also begin manufacturing its cars locally within the next few years.

Henrik Fisker told the media the the company wants to secure a first-mover advantage."Ultimately, India will go full electric. It may not go as fast as the U.S., China or Europe, but we want to be one of the first ones to come in here," Fisker said.Fisker continued, explaining that he expects EVs to become more commonplace in India by 2025-26.

Due to a lack of charging infrustructure, as-well-as high battery costs, electric vehicles make up just 1% of the country's 3 million annual car sales market. However, India’s government aims to increase this share to 30% by 2030 and is offering companies billions of dollars in incentives to build their EVs and set up supply chains locally.

Electric vehicle giant, Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) initially planned on enering the market before eventually putting its plans on hold when the company failed to secure a lower import tariff.

"Ultimately, if you want to have somewhat of a larger volume in India, you almost have to start building a vehicle here or at least do some assembly," Fisker said.

While Fisker admitted it is "very expensive" to import vehicles into India, the company wants to use the Ocean to build its brand, with its premium pricing likely to limit numbers, he said.

Fisker's next EV, the five-seater PEAR, is being considered for production in India. However plans for the PEAR in India will have to wait until at least 2026.

The company is scouting for real estate space to open a New Delhi showroom and is meeting auto component suppliers to source parts for its global production, he said.

"Already we are starting to build some relationships," Fisker said.

By Michael Elkins | [email protected]

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