Fisker Group, the operating subsidiary of Fisker Inc., has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the company announced on Tuesday.
Fisker ceased production of its sole model, the all-electric Ocean SUV, in March amid quality issues and a cash crunch at the automaker.
Its press release on the bankruptcy said that it is discussing debtor-in-possession financing and a sale of assets, which are valued between $500 million and $1 billion, along with liabilities of $100 million to $500 million, according to Reuters.
Fisker had delivered approximately 4,700 Oceans worldwide out of 10,000 that were built for it under contract by Magna in Austria by the time production was suspended. Sales of vehicles that remained in inventory continued through its network of dealers at cut-rate prices that were listed as low as $24,995.
THE FISKER PEAR IS A MAGICAL ELECTRIC PIZZA DELIVERY VEHICLE WITH A FRONT BENCH SEAT
“We are proud of our achievements, and we have put thousands of Ocean SUVs in customer’s hands in both North America and Europe. “Like other companies in the electric vehicle industry, we have faced various market and macroeconomic headwinds that have impacted our ability to operate efficiently. After evaluating all options for our business, we determined that proceeding with a sale of our assets under Chapter 11 is the most viable path forward for the company.”
Fisker said it plans to continue with reduced operations that include “preserving certain customer programs, and compensating needed vendors on a go-forward basis.”
The Ocean was fraught with software issues following its launch and was the subject of several scathing reviews, including one by tech YouTube star Marquees Brownlee, who called it “the worst car I’ve ever reviewed” in a February video that has since racked up 5.7 million views.
Fisker announced plans to expand its lineup with a Pear low-cost model, the Ronin sports car and Alaska SUV that were revealed as concept vehicles last August, but never made it into production.