Dato che l’alleanza Renault-Nissan è morta creo un thread a parte per la casa giapponese. Secondo Reuters Nissan potrebbe investire in Fisker e produrre il modello Alaska, un pick up medio elettrico.
is in advanced talks to invest in electric vehicle maker Fisker Inc. in a deal that could provide the Japanese automaker with access to an electric pickup while giving the struggling startup a financial lifeline, two people familiar with the negotiations told Reuters on Friday.
The deal could close this month, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the talks are ongoing and have not been finalized.
Terms being discussed include Nissan investing more than $400 million in Fisker's truck platform and building Fisker's planned Alaska pickup starting in 2026 at one of its U.S. assembly plants, one of the sources said. Nissan would build its own electric pickup on the same platform, the source said. Nissan has U.S. assembly plants in Mississippi and Tennessee.
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Fisker raises 'substantial doubt' as a going concern after $463 million Q4 net loss; 15% work force cut planned EV startup Fisker receives noncompliance notice from NYSE Fisker faces new NHTSA probe after complaints of vehicle rollaway Fisker said on Thursday, when it announced it might not be able to continue as a going concern and would cut 15 percent of its workforce, that it was in talks with an unnamed "large automaker" for a potential investment and joint development partnership.
A Fisker spokesman said the company does not comment on speculation, while Nissan officials were not immediately available to comment.
The term sheet is ready and the deal is going through due diligence, one of the sources said.
Nissan was an EV pioneer with its fully battery powered Leaf hatchback in 2010 but has since struggled in the face of nimbler new entrants. A deal with Fisker would help it move into the growing U.S. electric pickup market. Nissan's talks with Fisker comes in the wake of the former's “rebalanced” relationship with its long-time alliance partner Renault.
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The more limited alliance removes certain restrictions and has opened the door for Nissan to develop growth plans in areas such as EVs and software independent of Renault, said one of the sources, who is familiar with Nissan's thinking.
The Yokohama-headquartered automaker is scouring “many, many opportunities,” the person said.
For Fisker, the deal might be the lifeline it needs to survive at a time when aggressive price cuts globally by EV leaders Tesla Inc. and China's BYD are pressuring the industry, especially for startups like Fisker.
Fisker has struggled to sell its flagship Ocean electric crossover after high interest rates led to a slowdown in demand. It said current financial resources were "insufficient" to cover the next 12 months and without additional financing it might be forced to cut production, decrease investments, scale back operations and slash more jobs.
Fisker also said Thursday it was in talks with a debt holder about a potential investment. Fisker said it aims to deliver between 20,000 and 22,000 Ocean vehicles in 2024.
Fisker CEO Henrik Fisker previously told Reuters that the company was in talks with five automakers about a partnership to secure additional production capacity for its vehicles. On Thursday, he said talks had narrowed to one automaker and a deal would include joint development of one or more EV platforms, and North America manufacturing.
Fisker unveiled the Alaska pickup last year with a price tag of just over $45,000 and said it was slated for production early next year. The Alaska platform is an extended version of the Ocean one. It and any related vehicle from Nissan would compete in a segment that includes the Ford F-150 Lightning, GM's Chevrolet Silverado electric truck, Rivian Inc.'s EV and Tesla's Cybertruck.
Henrik Fisker, however, said Thursday the startup would not spend money on additional projects until a strategic partnership was in place.
Fisker shares plunged 34 percent to close at 48 cents on Friday. The stock was down more than 43 percent earlier on Friday, but the shares began to rise after the Reuters report about Nissan emerged.
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