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A Fisker Ocean is displayed at an event outside the New York Stock Exchange in 2022. Picture: REUTERS
A Fisker Ocean is displayed at an event outside the New York Stock Exchange in 2022. Picture: REUTERS

Electric vehicle (EV) start-up Fisker received court approval of its bankruptcy liquidation plan on Friday, following last-minute negotiations to preserve the company’s $46m sale of its remaining inventory of about 3,000 Ocean SUVs.

US bankruptcy judge Thomas Horan signed off on Fisker’s bankruptcy plan at a court hearing in Wilmington, Delaware, clearing the company to repay creditors with assets remaining after it sold off its vehicle fleet.

Fisker filed for bankruptcy in June, after failing to reach a partnership with Nissan for production of its EVs. While those talks were ongoing, Fisker’s cash flow problems forced it to pause vehicle production and lay off staff.

Fisker ultimately chose to liquidate its operations in bankruptcy, selling off its remaining vehicle fleet to buyer American Lease and transferring its intellectual property to creditors.

The vehicle fleet sale hit a last-minute snag last week, after American Lease realised that Fisker would not be able to transfer essential data and support services to new servers operated by the buyer.

Without the data transfer, the vehicle fleet would be cut off from essential services such as updating vehicle software, reviewing diagnostic data, and allowing drivers to remotely access their vehicles.

American Lease resolved the dispute by agreeing to pay an additional $2.5m over five years for future tech support services. The deal would also benefit other Fisker Ocean owners, who had similarly expressed concern about what would happen to their vehicles after Fisker’s servers shut down, attorneys said in court on Friday.

Several EV companies in the hyper-competitive EV market have filed for bankruptcy in the past two years, including Proterra, Lordstown and Electric Last Mile Solutions, as they grappled with weakening demand, fundraising hurdles and operational challenges from global supply chain issues. 

Reuters

 

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