Fisker will have its new Pear crossover EV built in Ohio alongside the Lordstown Endurance electric truck, with electronics megacorp Foxconn handling the job.
EV company Fisker made a splash today, announcing its plans to bring a second electric model to market. The upstart automaker will be partnering with Foxconn to build the Fisker Pear — an acronym for Personal Electric Automotive Revolution — in Lordstown, Ohio. Fisker plans to have electronics-manufacturing giant Foxconn start production in 2024, with a target of 250,000 units per year.
Henrik Fisker Swings for the EV Fences Again
Henrik Fisker’s automotive ventures have a long and winding history. After designing cars like the BMW Z8 and 2004 Aston Martin DB9, the Danish designer went out on his own.
He first started Fisker Automotive in 2007, building the oddly shaped plug-in hybrid Karma. Fisker built around 2,500 Karmas before that company shuttered in 2014. The closure came not long after its battery supplier filed for bankruptcy. Chinese conglomerate Wanxiang then bought Fisker Automotive’s assets and started Karma Automotive, which still makes a version of the original Karma today.
Henrik Fisker started another automaker in 2016. That company, Fisker Inc., is bringing to market the Ocean EV, which it announced last year, and now it introduces the Pear.
The Same Foxconn That Built Your Phone Will Build You a Car
Foxconn (Hon Hai Precision Industry) is big in building electronics for other companies. Operations around the globe have combined to build the BlackBerry devices, make iPads and iPhones for Apple, every Microsoft Xbox console after the first one, and Google Pixel devices.
In short, it knows how to build high-tech stuff. Now it plans to move that knowledge into building high-tech consumer vehicles.
Late last year, Foxconn announced plans to buy the former Lordstown Assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio. Lordstown Motors had bought the plant from General Motors in 2019, with a plan to build a new electric truck there. Until Foxconn’s deal closed, that plan was on shaky financial ground.
Foxconn’s purchase of the plant closed this week, and Fisker’s announcement came the next day.
Pear Shaping Up Alongside Lordstown Electric Truck
Per the production plan, the Ohio plant will be able to build a minimum of 250,000 Fisker Pear vehicles per year once operations ramp up. Foxconn will still build the Lordstown Endurance pickup there, in a stroke of good news for the city and the plant.
With the announcement, we got our best look yet at the Pear. Fisker says it plans to launch the EV in 2024, with a price starting below $29,900 before incentives.
Fisker says design and engineering that focuses on using fewer parts will enable the low price. Meanwhile, rapid and simplified manufacturing should help speed up the process.
Fisker will build the EV on a new platform it designed itself, and it won’t be shared with the Ocean. The company does plan two more vehicles for the same platform and expects to announce those down the road.
New Look at the Affordable Pear EV
In the Fisker Pear teaser, a front-side view shows off a stylish crossover. With a square roof but wide and curvy fenders, it wears a thin headlight design much like the Fisker Ocean. It also has an illuminated Pear script logo like the Ocean.
A curved A-pillar is an unusual move in modern design. Rearview cameras in place of traditional mirrors stick out on narrow stalks from the base of the pillars.
Fisker is taking reservations for the Pear now, and $250 will get you a spot on the list on the company’s website. The automaker hasn’t given us much detail on the vehicle, but calls it “an agile urban EV.” It also calls it “a mobility device rather than a conventional car.”
The Pear will be around 177 inches long, around the same as the Toyota RAV4 compact crossover.
Fisker still plans to launch the Ocean EV crossover later this year.
