CES 2020

Fiskar to reveal new Ocean all-electric SUV in January

Eileen Falkenberg-Hull
Dec 20, 2019, 6:08 am

The pictures have been out there for some time. Now, it's time for Fishker to make good on its promises. The company will unveil the 2022 Fisker Ocean at CES in January.

Priced from around $40,000, the SUV features an all-electric powertrain, in a final prototype format.

"The world will get to see the fully engineered vehicle, which rides on a production-ready platform – signaling our intent to get it to market efficiently," said Henrik Fisker, CEO, Fisker Inc.

Fisker AppFisker will sell the SUV direct to consumers via a mobile presence. Photo courtesy of Henrik Fisker, Twitter

The company is calling it one of the most ecologically conscious vehicles ever produced. Fisker Inc. is touting the vehicle's use of recycled materials, such as fishing nets, in the SUV's cabin, which also sports vegan components made of 100 percent polycarbonate polyurethane, recycled t-shirts . A Dinamica "eco-suede" is made of recycled polyester and other consumer plastics, features inside the cabin as well as rubber recovered from tire recycling efforts.

The company will also offer a large head up display for drivers.

Fisker is saying that the SUV will have a 275-300-mile range that can be enhanced with an available range extender. That range comes from a 80 kWh battery pack that is paired with a solar roof in its top trim level, a feature that the company claims could provide 1,000 additional miles of charge over the course of a year.

The SUV will be available in four-wheel drive with one front and one rear electric motor.

There will be a "small, center high-mounted radar" that resides behind glass and a parametric pattern takes the place of a the traditional grille, allowing on-demand airflow.

The touch of a button will allow for an open-air experience. Fisker will offer available 22-inch wheels.

It is slated to have a starting price below $40,000, putting it in direct competition with the Tesla Model Y and Kia Niro EV. It is expected that Fisker will officially launch the car in the second half of 2021.

No dealerships are in the works. Fisker intends to sell its vehicle via a direct-to-consumer e-mobility platform. The company will offer a nationwide concierge service model to address repairs and customer service concerns.

Fisker intends to produce the vehicle in the U.S.

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Electric trucks

Ford begins production of F-150 Lightning

First-year Ford F-150 Lightning production numbers doubled
Ford

Ford has begun serial production of the new F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck, marking what could be one of the most important days in recent automotive history. The first trucks rolled off the assembly line at Ford's Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Michigan today, so America's best-selling truck has finally gone electric. Ford wants to sell two million EVs per year by 2026 and have half of its global sales volume to be electric by 2030.

Ford F-150 LightningPast meets future: Ford's new electric pickup will be the F-150 Lightningautomotivemap.com

Ford has seen extreme demand for the trucks, with 200,000 reservations since the books opened. To deliver, the automaker plans to increase production to an annual rate of 150,000 units by next year, which involved huge investments in the Rouge Center and created hundreds of jobs. Ford's total investment for the F-150 Lightning crests $1 billion across Michigan alone, and has created 1,700 jobs across various facilities in the state.

Ford F-150 LightningThe first production trucks left the factory today.
Ford Motor Company

Though the Lightning starts around $40,000, the most mainstream models will cost much more than that. The F-150 Lightning Pro, while affordable, is a stripped-down truck intended for commercial buyers. It's still a forward-looking electric truck with amazing capabilities, but it lacks much of the creature comforts and features that everyday drivers expect. Higher trims get the latest driver assistance features, including BlueCruise, which is Ford's semi-autonomous hands-free driving assistant. A 12-inch touchscreen is standard, along with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, navigation, a Wi-Fi hotspot, and more.

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Electric pickup truck

Ford F-150 Lightning could get tank turn

Ford patented a tank turn feature in late 2020.

Ford

The F-150 Lightning is packed with cool tech and capability, but we're learning that Ford has even bigger plans for its first electric pickup. Inside EVs found an exciting document on the Lightning Owners Forum that shows ford applied to patent a tank turn feature like the one we saw Rivian pull off a few years ago, where the truck spins around a center point using its electric motors. Rivian's tank turn feature still hasn't made it to market, so it's possible that Ford beats them to the punch.

Ford F-150 LightningTank turn allows the truck to spin while almost completely stationary.Ford

Ford applied for the patent in October 2020, but it's just now making its way out. In the document, Ford gives an example of how it could work: "Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture are disclosed to perform a tank turn. An example vehicle includes a first wheel and a second wheel, the first wheel located on an end of a first axle, the second wheel located on an end of the second axle, the end of the first axle opposite to the end of the second axle, a first suspension coupled to the first wheel, a second suspension coupled to the second wheel, and a controller to drive the first axle in a first direction, drive the second axle in the second direction and decrease a first suspension load of the first suspension and a second suspension load of the second suspension."

As Inside EVs points out, Rivian's tank turn feature employs the R1 T's quad-motor setup to drive each wheel individually. The F-150 Lightning doesn't currently have a four-motor choice and instead offers two motors – one on each axle. It's important to note that Rivian patented tank turn and showed that it could work, but there hasn't yet been a production vehicle that offers the capability. Toyota filed a patent in 2019, but again it's just paperwork at this point.

Ford F-150 LightningNo automaker has brought tank turn to production yet.

To achieve the turn, Ford has a few options. The most obvious would be to offer a quad-motor upgrade in future model years. It's unclear if such a feature is in the works or if Ford plans to provide beefier versions of the Lightning, such as a Raptor variant with upgraded motors. The automaker could also design gearing to reverse the wheels on one side while the others drive forward, or it could use braking to lock the wheels and tighten the turning radius.

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