Tesla, Nio Supplier CATL To Power Fisker's Ocean EV Under New Battery-Deal: What You Need To Know

China's Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd, a battery supplier to Tesla Inc TSLA and Nio Inc NIO will supply batteries to Fisker Inc’s FSR for its Ocean electric sports utility vehicle, the latter said in a statement on Tuesday.

What Happened: The contract to supply two different battery packs will run from 2023 till 2025 with an initial battery capacity of over 5 gigawatt-hours annually, Fisker said.

The pre-production electric vehicle maker reiterated that the Ocean SUV would debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show on Nov. 17 and begin commercial production and deliveries in November next year. 

CATL would supply two packs — a lithium nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) cell and a lithium-ion phosphate (LFP) — to Fisker.

The two companies have been developing and testing the battery solutions for vehicle structure, crashworthiness, high levels of energy density and validation at the pack and vehicle level, Fisker said in the statement.

See Also: Apple Supplier Foxconn Confirms Deal To Buy Lordstown Ohio Plant, Fisker PEAR Could Come Sooner

The Electric Ocean: Fisker has said its first production electric vehicle Ocean will have a starting price tag of $37,499, before EV-related subsidies. CEO Henrik Fisker in September tweeted that Ocean has secured over 18,000 bookings. 

THANK YOU, to all our reservation holders. I know u reserved with almost no info! U will get a lot more information November 17th & a few “best in class” surprises! #Fisker #Love #EVs #ESG #surprise pic.twitter.com/kzw47Rjk5G

— Henrik Fisker (@henrikfisker) September 17, 2021

Why It Matters: Fisker competes with Tesla — a company that once employed Henrik Fisker and even sued him over design secrets.

The California-based company has no sales or cars in production yet. It has revealed plans to develop a more affordable, sub-$30,000 electric vehicle that would launch by the end of 2023 with the help of Apple Inc's AAPL Taiwan-based supplier Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, Ltd HNHPF.

Hon Hai, better known as Foxconn, has announced a deal to buy Lordstown Motors’ RIDE Ohio assembly plant where it plans to build electric vehicles for Fisker.

Price Action: FSR shares closed 1.31% higher at $17.73 a share on Tuesday.

See Also: Fisker, Which Won't Begin Production Until Late 2022, Says It's Not Hit By Chip Shortage

Photo: Courtesy of Fisker