Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
The electric vehicle (EV) maker Fisker is facing significant operational challenges as the company strives to provide a service network to the customers after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week.
According to unofficial information from a Fisker Ocean owner, the company is currently operating with a very small team in Germany and has closed its store in the center of Munich.
On Friday, a group of early adopters of Fisker vehicles announced the formation of a non-profit association, aimed at ensuring continued access to parts and services for owners as the startup filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware.
Despite these hurdles, Fisker is actively working to build a comprehensive service network in Germany, with efforts focused on Munich and Berlin, and potentially expanding to Hamburg.
The goal is to provide these locations with access to crucial Fisker data, enabling them to perform necessary updates and repairs.
One of the critical issues highlighted was the deployment of Fisker’s software version 3.0. While the update is essentially complete, it comprises substantial data volumes that present a unique challenge: the small 12V batteries in the vehicles are frequently drained during the process, according to an employee from the German team.
Fisker is addressing this problem and considering the possibility that the update may need to be installed manually by service partners. If additional partners can be brought on board, this could provide a small but significant hope for customers.
The Fisker employee assured that steps are being taken to ensure the availability of spare parts. A considerable inventory is reportedly stockpiled at Magna, Fisker’s manufacturing partner based in Austria, and efforts are underway to establish efficient distribution channels to deliver these parts to customers and service partners.
The bankruptcy has triggered an automatic acceleration of its debt obligations under its 2.50% convertible senior notes due 2026.
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This information is revealed in an 8-K form signed by Fisker’s Chief Restructuring Officer John DiDonato. There is a scheduled hearing this Thursday (June 27) to discuss extending access to these funds further.
This acceleration clause, activated by the bankruptcy filing, results in the immediate obligation to repay both the principal and interest on these notes.
The filing, initiated by Fisker Group Inc. last week (June 17) and followed by other U.S. subsidiaries later in the week (June 19) constitutes an event of default under the terms of the notes’ indenture, thereby expediting the debt repayment schedule.
However, any efforts to enforce such payment obligations are automatically stayed under the Bankruptcy Code provisions, according to the filing.
Last Thursday, the chief executive Henrik Fisker made his first public appearance of the year, delivering a keynote speech at the ET Auto Summit. However, the former automotive designer avoided the topic and did not comment on Fisker’s situation.
According to the bankruptcy documents, Fisker has an inventory of 4,300 unsold vehicles parked on different storage lots. In late May, EV reported that an increasing number of Fisker SUVs had been accumulating in a storage lot at the San Diego port, sparking concerns about potential demand or distribution issues.
Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
