2023 Fisker Ocean Is in Production, with Quick Ramp

The first-edition Ocean One SUV is already sold out, as are lower-end models, but the top Ocean Extreme model can still be ordered at a price just under $70,000.

Official production began today for Henrik Fisker’s long-awaited Ocean all-electric five-passenger SUV, which had an uncertain gestation until a tie-in with assembly partner Magna International was announced in October 2020. Fisker's previous automobile, the Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid, is not affiliated with the Fisker Ocean project, the tooling having been sold off and reconstituted by Karma Automotive as Henrik Fisker himself moved on to focus on his all-electric Ocean SUV project.

Expectations are high that the Ocean will make a good first impression when customer deliveries begin. After all, the Magna Steyr plant in Graz, Austria, also produces the Mercedes-Benz G-class, the BMW 5-series, and the Jaguar E-Pace and I-Pace, as well as the BMW Z4 and Toyota Supra. As expected from an established assembly plant, they seem to be on the right track to manage build quality and early teething problems, with a gradual production ramp-up that will result in just 300 examples produced by the end of first quarter of 2023. And it's not as though the Ocean's assembly line’s switch just got flipped today, as some 95 prototype Ocean vehicles were built as the line came together. Production will increase to 8000 by the end of next year's second quarter and rise to more than 42,000 by year's end.

Compared with the unrelated Volkswagen ID.4, the Ocean SUV is some five inches wider and nearly eight inches longer (both in wheelbase and in an overall sense), but it stands no taller. That gives it a sleek shape that, crucially, also provides increased underfloor space for a larger battery. The capacity of that battery has not yet been announced, but Fisker does report that all-wheel-drive vehicles equipped with the larger Hyper Range battery will be good for up to 350 miles according to EPA testing methodology, thanks in part to a rear motor disconnect that comes into play while cruising. At the other extreme, Fisker says that Boost mode will unleash as much as 550 horsepower that can accelerate the machine to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds.

The front-wheel-drive Sport, which is currently sold out for 2023 thanks to its low starting price of $37,499 before destination, will use the smaller Touring Range pack and deliver 250 miles of range. Its single-motor powertrain makes 275 hp and takes the entry-level Ocean to 60 mph in 6.9 seconds.

Few interior dimensions have been released apart from headroom, but at 41.1 inches in front and 40.4 inches out back, things do look promising for the relatively low-slung electric crossover, which offers a panoramic glass roof across the board. The tinted glass panels are fixed on the entry-level Sport, sliding on the midlevel Ultra, and supplemented with photovoltaic panels on the Extreme and the first-edition One.

With luck, we will be able to evaluate and test an early production model in the first part of 2023. The Ocean has been a long time coming, but Henrik Fisker's tie-up with an established auto assembly outfit appears to be on the cusp of paying off in a very tangible way.

Dan Edmunds was born into the world of automobiles, but not how you might think. His father was a retired racing driver who opened Autoresearch, a race-car-building shop, where Dan cut his teeth as a metal fabricator. Engineering school followed, then SCCA Showroom Stock racing, and that combination landed him suspension development jobs at two different automakers. His writing career began when he was picked up by Edmunds.com (no relation) to build a testing department.

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