Fisker (FSRN -14.37%), the ambitious design-centered electric vehicle (EV) company, has a new manufacturing partner. The carmaker has signed framework agreements with veteran tech manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry (HNHPF -3.55%), better known as Foxconn, to collaborate on the development and production involved with its Project PEAR.
PEAR stands for Personal Electric Automotive Revolution, which Fisker describes grandly as "a program to develop a new breakthrough electric vehicle."
A Fisker Ocean SUV. Image source: Fisker.
Under the terms of their deal, which was announced Thursday, Fisker and Foxconn will both invest into the project, and each will earn money when and if it is successfully completed. The two companies will develop a lightweight vehicle platform called FP28, upon which they will develop and produce Project PEAR automobiles.
In its press release touting the deal, Fisker did not provide any financial specifics or estimates for the partnership. It did quote its CEO and namesake Henrik Fisker as saying, "In order to deliver on our promise of product breakthroughs from Project PEAR, we needed to rethink every aspect of product development, sourcing, and manufacturing."
"Our partnership with Foxconn enables us to deliver those industry firsts at a price point that truly opens up electric mobility to the mass market," he added.
If all goes smoothly, the vehicle that results from Project PEAR will be Fisker's second production model. The first, the Ocean SUV, is not yet on the market. Fisker aims to begin production of that vehicle in Europe in the fourth quarter of 2022. After Fisker and Foxconn nail down a U.S. manufacturing site, the PEAR automobile's start of production should be in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Never short of ambition, Fisker's aim with Project PEAR is to manufacture a vehicle that retails for under $30,000 while being a highly attractive product born of, in Henrik Fisker's words, "stunning design and innovation."
