Fisker, the most vaporware of all electric car makers so far, has announced plans to set up their Indian headquarters in Hyderabad for their initial operations. The Indian headquarters will be responsible for software and virtual vehicle development, and will hire local employees. Infact, local recruitment is already underway.
Fisker was founded by the eccentric automotive designer Henrik Fisker, best known for designing the BMW Z8 and the Fisker Karma. In 2016, he decided to join the EV race, and set up Fisker Inc. with his first concept, an electric variant of his earlier Fisker Karma sedan. The company has long been in the doldrums, being accused of promising products that never see the light of day. However, recent announcements have put at least some of those doubts to rest, such as the collaboration with Magna Steyr to manufacture their cars in Austria. With the establishment of the Indian headquarters, Fisker will add 200 Indian employees to its portfolio. The Indian entity will be known as Fisker Vigyan India.
Fisker Chairman and CEO Henrik Fisker said, "Our expansion into India represents both a strategic market opportunity and a significant boost to our global engineering capabilities. We have already started local hiring in India and expect our new team in Hyderabad to be fully operational and engaged on multiple product programs within weeks. Our talent pool in India will help us pave the way for the launch of Fisker Ocean and Fisker PEAR in India. In the global race for leading technical talent, we see our new operation in Hyderabad as a major strategic advantage. I would also like to thank the State of Telangana for their support and enabling us to make a fast start as we set up our initial operations. We are excited to tap into the growing talent pool in India."
Fisker currently has an SUV in the pipelines, called the Fisker Ocean. It will compete with the Tesla Model X and the upcoming Lucid Gravity SUV. The Extreme variant has a claimed WLTP range of 630kms, while the Sport variant has a claimed WLTP range of 440kms. A significant differentiator of the Fisker Ocean will be the amount of sustainable and recycled material that goes into the car.