Oh, to be a fly on the wall at Fisker’s headquarters right about now. The struggling electric automaker is facing bankruptcy, accounting issues, and shaky reviews, but its troubles are far from over. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently said it opened a preliminary investigation into the company’s Ocean SUV after receiving reports that the latch handles prevented opening the EV’s doors.
The NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation has received 14 complaints from owners who say that they were unable to open the doors. Some said the doors wouldn’t open from either direction, which is obviously less than ideal if there’s an emergency. There were also reports that the Ocean’s emergency override mechanism failed to remedy the issue.
This is bad news for Fisker, but it’s just another log on the fire at this point. The company’s stock has been delisted, and its talks with Nissan regarding a potentially life-saving investment have fallen through. In regulatory filings, it noted significant doubts that it would stay afloat without new investments, though it’s currently unclear where that could come from.
Fisker has also struggled to sell its existing Ocean inventory, as spotty reviews have left a bad taste in potential buyers’ mouths. It recently slashed prices on entry-level Ocean variants, dropping the cost of entry to the mid-$20,000 range. The move tanked the values of the SUVs already in owners’ driveways and likely won’t do much to bolster sales, as buyers recognize the risks of purchasing a vehicle from a company that could go under at almost any moment.
[Image: Fisker]
Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.
