US Court Approves Bankruptcy Plan Of Fisker After Tech Support Deal By American Lease
US Court Approves Bankruptcy Plan Of Fisker After Tech Support Deal By American Lease
Earlier, the company failed to partner with Nissan for production
The US Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware has approved the liquidation plan of electric vehicle (EV) startup Fisker, after last-minute negotiations to preserve the company's $46 million sale of its remaining inventory of about 3,000 Ocean SUVs.
Judge Thomas Horan allowed the company to repay creditors after selling its vehicle fleet.
Fisker had filed for bankruptcy in June, after failing to reach a partnership with Nissan to produce EVs. Even as discussions were on, the cash flow issues paused its production, and the firm reduced the workforce.
Finally, it liquidated its operations in bankruptcy, selling its remaining vehicles to American Lease and transferring its intellectual property to creditors.
Recently, the sale hit a last-minute snag, after American Lease realized that Fisker would be unable to transfer essential data and support services to new servers operated by the buyer.
Without the data transfer, the vehicles would be cut off from essential services, including updating vehicle software, reviewing diagnostics, and allowing drivers to remotely access their vehicles.
However, American Lease resolved the dispute by agreeing to pay an additional $2.5 million over five years for future tech support services. The deal will benefit Ocean owners, who expressed concern about their vehicles after Fisker's servers shut down.
The hyper-competitive EV market has seen several companies, including Proterra, Lordstown and Electric Last Mile Solutions, file for bankruptcy in the past two years. They struggled with weakening demand, fundraising hurdles and operational challenges from global supply chains.
