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Henrik Fisker

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For the admiral from the 1700s, seeHenrik Fisker (admiral).

Henrik Fisker
Fisker in 2016
Born(1963-08-10)10 August 1963(age 60)
Allerød,Denmark
NationalityDanish
Alma materArt Center College of Design
Occupation(s)Car designer and businessman
Years active1989–present
Known forLuxury car design
Spouses
  • Patricia Fisker
    ​
    ​
    (m.1989⁠–⁠2011)​
  • Geeta Gupta
    ​
    (m.2012)​
Children2

Henrik Fisker(born 10 August 1963)[1]is aDanishautomotive designer and entrepreneur based inLos Angeles, California,US. He is best known as the founder ofFisker AutomotiveandFisker Inc,and as a designer of luxury cars. After working at BMW, Ford, and Aston Martin, Fisker founded Fisker Automotive in 2007. The company failed to meet production deadlines despite significant federal and private investment. Fisker resigned in 2013.The New York Timesdescribed the company as the "Solyndraof the electric car industry "and a" debacle ".[2]He is currently the CEO of Fisker Inc., which he co-founded with his wife in 2016; the company filed for bankruptcy in 2024.

Early life and education

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Fisker was born inAllerød,Denmark.[3][4]As a young boy he became interested in cars after seeing aMaserati Boraon the highway, and soon started sketching designs in notebooks.[5]He graduated with a degree in transportation design from theArt Center College of DesigninVevey, Switzerland,in 1989.[3][5][6]

Career

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Early career

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BMW

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BMW Z8

In 1989, Fisker began working atBMW Technik,the company's advanced design studio in Munich. His first project there was the E1 electric concept car.[7]From 1992 to 1997, he refined the Z07 concept car, which would become theBMW Z8roadster, produced from 1999 to 2003. The car combined design elements from the company's past with a modern look, paying homage to theBMW 507(produced from 1956 to 1959).[citation needed]Fisker also worked on the design of BMW's firstSUV,a mid-size luxurycrossoverintroduced in 1999, theX5.[8][9]

From 1999 to 2001, Fisker was the president and chief executive officer ofDesignworks,a BMW industrial design studio headquartered inNewbury Park, California.[10]

Ford, Aston Martin, and others

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Aston Martin V8 Vantage

Fisker left BMW for theFord Motor Companyin 2001, where he served as design director atAston Martin.He was in charge of the production design of theAston Martin DB9(in production from 2004 to 2016), bringing in elements from the history of Aston Martin cars. The DB9 was available as both a coupe and a convertible. Fisker also designed theAston Martin V8 Vantage(in production from 2005 to 2018).[3][7][11]It was named the coolest car of the year and the best sounding car of the year byTop Gearin 2005. The Vantage is the best selling Aston Martin of all time.[11]The extent of Fisker's involvement in designing both the DB9 and V8 Vantage has been disputed, however, with former director of design at Aston MartinIan Callumsaying the two cars were largely designed under his watch before Fisker joined the company.[12][13]

From September 2001 to August 2003, Fisker was creative director of Ingeni, Ford's London-based design and creativity center. In August 2003, he became the director of Ford's Global Advanced Design Studio inIrvine, California,where theFord Shelby GR-1was designed.[3]In 2005, Fisker left Aston Martin and the Ford Motor Company.[14]

In 2007,Tesla Motorshired Fisker to perform initial design work on theTesla Model Selectric sedan,[15]which was introduced in 2012.[16]That year, he also designed the body of theArtega GTtwo-door sports car,Artega Automobile's first model, which was produced between 2009 and 2012. It spawned the 2011 Artega SE, an electric sports car with an identical body.[17]

Independent companies

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Fisker Coachbuild

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In 2005, Fisker partnered with Bernhard Koehler to start a custom car firm,Fisker Coachbuild,based inOrange County, California.[3][14]The company's first car was the Fisker Tramonto, a roadster based on theMercedes-Benz SL 55 AMG.The company's second car was the Fisker Latigo CS, with a re-bodiedBMW 645Cicoupe. 17 units of Tramonto were ever built in collaboration with coachbuilderStola.[3]

Fisker Automotive

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Main article:Fisker Automotive
A 2012 Fisker Karma

In August 2007, Fisker and Quantum Technologies launchedFisker AutomotiveinAnaheim, California.[3]

The first car to be designed by Fisker Automotive was theFisker Karma,a hybrid sports sedan.[18][19]The Karma was the only car by Fisker to ever be produced.[2]In 2009, Fisker displayed the company's second model, the Karma Sunset, a two-door retractable-hardtop convertible based on the regular Karma.[20][21]TheFisker Surf,displayed in 2011, was designed as a four-door plug-in hybrid hatchback.[22]Neither the Sunset or the Surf entered production.[2]

In 2008, Fisker raised over $90 million from investors including venture capital firmKleiner Perkins Caufield & Byersand actorLeonardo DiCaprio.[19][23]In total, the company raised over $1 billion from private investors.[24]In September 2009, Fisker Automotive was awarded a $528 million loan guarantee by theUnited States Department of Energy(DOE).[25]The automaker was one of four recipients of theAdvanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program,to encourage the domestic manufacture of electric cars. The funds were to be used to develop the Karma, as well as an affordable family-size plug-in hybrid car.[26]The loan facility was frozen at $192 million in February 2012, after the DOE claimed that Fisker missed its milestones.[23][2]According to the DOE, the government recouped a total of approximately $53 million ($28 million from the company plus $25 million from the sale of the loan to Hybrid Technology, months before assets of Fisker Automotive were sold toWanxiangfor $149.2 million).[27]TheNew York Timesdescribed the company as the "Solyndraof the electric car industry "and a" debacle ".[2]

Fisker resigned as chairman from Fisker Automotive in March 2013, after the company failed to meet a series of production deadlines.[18][2]Later that year, the company declared voluntary bankruptcy.[28][29]Assets of Fisker Automotive were sold at a bankruptcy auction in 2014 to Chinese automotive parts firmWanxiangfor $149.2 million.[30]In September 2015, Fisker Automotive was renamedKarma Automotive.[31]The Fisker Karma was renamed the Karma Revero in 2016.[32]Fisker is not affiliated with Karma Automotive or its parent company Wanxiang.

HF Design

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In 2013, Fisker formed HF Design & Technology, a Los Angeles-based design house.[33][34]

In November 2014, Fisker designed theGalpin-Fisker Mustang Rocket,a coachbuilt custom-bodied Mustang.[35]The car was a collaboration between HF Design andGalpin Auto Sports.[36][37]In 2017, it was renamed the VLF Rocket V8.[38]

VLF Automotive

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Main article:VLF Automotive

In January 2016, Fisker formedVLF Automotivewith manufacturer and formerBoeingexecutive Gilbert Villarreal, and auto engineer and formerGeneral MotorsexecutiveBob Lutz,to manufacture small-run handcrafted luxury cars.[39]Based inAuburn Hills, Michigan,VLF is the successor to VL Automotive, which was launched in 2013 and led by Villarreal and Lutz.[31]VLF designed theForce 1 V10car in 2016.[40][41]Production began at VLF's Auburn Hills manufacturing facility in August 2016, with approximately 50 of the two-seaters scheduled to be manufactured.[39][40][42]Only five cars were actually produced.[43]

Fisker Inc.

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Main article:Fisker Inc.

In 2016, Fisker launchedFisker Inc.[44][45]The company's only vehicle is theFisker Ocean,which began production in 2022. The first deliveries of the launch edition, the Ocean One, occurred in May 2023.[46]As of 2022, the Ocean had 63,000 preorders.[47]Only 10,000 were built, with less than half delivered.[48]

On 8 July 2020, Fisker announced the completion of a US$50 million Series C financing round funded by Moore Strategic Ventures, the private investment arm ofLouis Bacon.[49]On 13 July 2020, Fisker announced that Fisker Inc. would offer aninitial public offeringon theNew York Stock Exchangethrough a merger withspecial-purpose acquisition companySpartan Energy Acquisition Corp., which is backed by private equity firmApollo Global Management.[50]On 30 October 2020, Fisker Inc. officially closed its merger with Spartan Energy Acquisition Corp. The company is publicly listed and traded on theNew York Stock Exchangeunder the ticker (NYSE:FSR).[51]On 28 June 2021, Fisker stock was added to theRussell 3000 Index.[52]

On 17 June 2024, Fisker Inc. filed forChapter 11 bankruptcyprotection in Delaware, listing liabilities at between $100 million to $500 million and assets between $500 million and $1 billion. The company stated that possible deal talks with a big automaker collapsed, which led it to its bankruptcy. Fisker claims that it is planning to repay its creditors during the bankruptcy proceedings.[53][54]

Controversies

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Tesla Motors v. Fisker Coachbuild (2008)

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On 14 April 2008,Tesla Motorsfiled a lawsuit against Fisker Coachbuild, Fisker and Koehler, contending that they had fraudulently agreed to a design contract in 2007 only to gain access to confidential information, before announcing a competing vehicle, the Fisker Karma. Both the Tesla and Fisker vehicles in question were designed as serial hybrid cars, with a gas engine powering a generator that charges a battery to power the electric motor, and both were initially planned for delivery in 2010. The lawsuit sought to prevent Fisker from using Tesla design documents, along with a return of the money from the Tesla contract, plus punitive damages.[55]Fisker filed for arbitration in May 2008. An arbitrator ruled in their favour in November 2008, finding "overwhelming" evidence showing that Fisker did not do anything wrong.[15][56]Subsequently, Tesla was ordered to pay US$1.14 million in legal fees and costs to Fisker.[57]

Fisker Automotive congressional hearing (2013)

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Following his resignation from Fisker Automotive in March 2013, Fisker voluntarily testified on 24 April 2013, at a congressional hearing led by theHouse Oversight and Government Reform Committeeon theDepartment of Energy's $192 million disbursement to Fisker Automotive through theAdvanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program.[58]Fisker Automotive had failed earlier that week to meet the deadline for repayment on the loan, which was originally approved as a $529 million loan guarantee.[59][60]

Fisker v. Aston Martin (2015–16)

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On 4 January 2016, Fisker filed a suit againstAston Martinand three of its executives for US$100 million in damages for civil extortion, claiming that his former employer was trying to prevent him from unveiling his new luxury sports car hybrid, theVLF Force 1 V10,at the 2016 North American International Auto Show. The complaint claimed that after Fisker released a single pen-on-paper sketch of the Force 1 in December 2015, he received a letter from Aston Martin claiming the design was too similar to theirDB10and demanding that he either change the design or not display the car at the auto show. Aston Martin had previously sued Fisker in 2015 over his car design for the Thunderbolt. That case was settled after Fisker agreed not to move forward with the vehicle.[61]Following the January 2016 auto show debut of the Force 1, it was clear that the vehicle was not similar to the DB10. Aston Martin subsequently stopped threatening to interfere with the development of the Force 1, and the matter was resolved in April 2016.[40][41][62]

Personal life

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Fisker is married to Geeta Gupta-Fisker, who is the co-founder and CFO ofFisker Inc.[63][64][65]

See also

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Wikimedia Commons has media related toHenrik Fisker.

References

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  1. ^Yeomans, Jon (26 March 2023)."Henrik Fisker: 'I left Aston Martin for my electric SUV dream'".The Sunday Times.Archivedfrom the original on 26 March 2023.
  2. ^abcdefVlasic, Bill (24 April 2013)."Breaking Down on the Road to Electric Cars".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved7 February2023.
  3. ^abcdefgSquatriglia, Chuck."Henrik Fisker's 'Timeless' Automotive Designs".Wired.ISSN1059-1028.Retrieved7 February2023.
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  58. ^"Testimony of Henrik Fisker,"oversight.house.gov, 24 April 2013.
  59. ^Brad Plumer,"What Fisker's failure tells us about Obama's clean-energy programs,"Washington Post,24 April 2013.
  60. ^Meg Handley,"House Republicans Slam Government 'Bet' on Fisker Automotive,"U.S. News & World Report,25 April 2013.
  61. ^Yuliya Chernova,"Henrik Fisker Sues Aston Martin for $100 Million in Damages,"Wall Street Journal,4 January 2016.
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  64. ^""I believe an open culture promotes accountability, responsibility and honesty". with Dr. Geeta Gupta-Fisker and Chaya Weiner ".Thrive Global.Retrieved22 August2019.
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