Fisker To Begin Production Prototype Testing This Year, Lays Out Global Retail-Stores Plan

Electric vehicle company Fisker Inc FSR said on Wednesday it will open its first showroom in Los Angeles early next year and aims to open a few more "brand experience centers" closer to the planned production start timeline in the second half of 2022.

What Happened: Besides Los Angeles, Fisker plans to set up a presence in Munich, New York, Miami and Copenhagen through the second half of 2022.

“Our global rollout plans are focused on the largest metropolitan areas for electric vehicle adoption – and where we can meet the greatest number of our reservation holders," CEO Henrik Fisker said.

The EV maker Fisker, which competes with Tesla Inc TSLA — a company that once employed Henrik Fisker and once sued him over design secrets, plans to begin testing the production prototype of its Ocean SUV testing later this year. 

Fisker Ocean will debut at the LA Auto Show next year and commence production on Nov. 17. 

In the U.S., Fisker Ocean will come with a price tag starting at $37,499, before EV-related subsidies.

California-based Fisker is also developing a more affordable, sub-$30,000 electric vehicle that it plans to launch by the end of 2023 with the help of Apple Inc AAPL supplier Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd HNHPF. 

Fisker claims it already has more than 62,000 hand-raisers and 17,300 paid reservations for the Ocean. 

See Also: Fisker, Which Won't Begin Production Until Late 2022, Says It's Not Hit By Chip ShortagePrice Action: Fisker shares closed 2.82% higher at $16.39 on Wednesday.

Benzinga's Take: A host of electric vehicle startups such as Nikola Corp NKLA and Lordstown Motors Corp RIDE have recently come under investor fire after delayed production plans, negative short-seller reports, and regulatory investigations.

Fisker CEO has been actively marketing the reservation numbers and sharing images and milestones related to its market strategy on social media but the real test lies with the prototype testing, which is scheduled later this year. 

Click here to check out Benzinga's EV Hub for the latest electric vehicles news.

Photo: Courtesy of Fisker