Importance Score: 45 / 100 🔵
A fleet of brand new
Abandoned Fisker EVs Recovered and Headed to Auction
All eight vehicles were collected last night by John Pye Auctions, tasked by the official receiver with managing their disposal to generate funds.
A spokesperson for the auction house confirmed the cars will be available for purchase in the coming months.
In fact, a total of 44 abandoned Fisker Ocean cars, gathered from across the UK following the company’s collapse, are being sold by John Pye Auctions. Some have already been sold at auction, fetching prices significantly below their original value.
Fisker’s Demise and the Dumped EVs
The accumulation of dumped electric vehicles came to light after American start-up Fisker filed for bankruptcy in June 2024, following unsuccessful attempts to secure a financial rescue.
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Official records indicate that 419 Ocean EVs were registered in the UK between December 2023 and June 2024, including the abandoned units. Owners are now anticipated to encounter substantial difficulties in sourcing spare parts for repairs.
Eight brand new electric cars, collectively valued at over £275,000, were left abandoned at the roadside for seven months.
John Pye Auctions collected all eight vehicles on Wednesday night on behalf of liquidators. They will be moved to a secure Birmingham facility for sale preparation.
The group of discarded electric vehicles gained media attention this week after it emerged they had been parked on a residential street against hedges since October.
The vehicles were abandoned on Colwick Road and Racecourse Road, in Nottingham’s eastern area, by local dealer Premium Central Performance and Prestige Cars.
Exposed to the elements and gathering dust, some still retained import stickers on the windshield, protective plastic seat coverings, and factory documentation inside.
According to reports from Nottinghamshire Live, the dealer was holding the cars for Fisker, having agreed to be a UK distributor before the company went into liquidation.
All eight vehicles are UK registered, and each is fitted with a registration plate.
It is likely the Nottinghamshire dealership pre-registered the cars while storing them on behalf of the now-defunct car manufacturer, anticipating potential buyers at short notice.
The Nottingham cars are 8 of the 419 Fisker Oceans delivered to the UK before the company’s liquidation last year.
The city council issued seven-day removal notices on March 3rd, but the vehicles remained until their recovery on Wednesday night, April 16th.
The dealership reportedly informed liquidators in October about their intention to relocate the cars to a public road for collection, as they were no longer legally permitted to store or sell them.
By parking them on the roadside, the dealership asserted they had ‘relinquished responsibility’ for the vehicles.
Liquidators were alerted to the risk of Nottingham City Council disposing of the EV convoy if they remained roadside for an extended period, with seven-day removal notices affixed to the car windows on March 3rd.
However, the collective 22 tonnes of unwanted EVs were only retrieved from the roadside on Wednesday, following media coverage of their location by This is Money.
John Pye Auctions in Birmingham is tasked with selling 44 Fisker Oceans. Some are pictured at their secure site.
Some of the 44 electric SUVs have already undergone auction, achieving prices between £10,000 and £15,000 – a fraction of their original pre-bankruptcy cost.
When the initial UK Fisker Oceans became available in 2023, prices ranged from £36,900 to £57,900, depending on specifications.
By April 2024, the nascent EV brand reduced prices to between £30,900 and £43,900 in a desperate attempt to boost sales.
John Pye Auctions stated that the cars were recovered last night and are expected to arrive at their secure Birmingham site today and tomorrow, before undergoing preparation for sale.
‘We’ve already sold some of the 44, but we will gradually introduce them into auctions over the coming months,’ a spokesperson explained.
Those already sold achieved prices ranging from £10,000 to £15,000.
While these vehicles had been used, some with over 3,000 miles, the auction prices represent a significant reduction from their original new car value.
Upon their initial UK launch in December 2023, prices ranged from £36,900 to £57,900, depending on the specification.
By April 2024, the fledgling EV manufacturer had reduced prices to between £30,900 and £43,900 in an effort to increase sales.
In an official statement provided to
‘John Pye Auctions, a leading UK auction house, possesses a strong history in managing high-profile and valuable asset disposals. With over 50 years of experience and a national network of auction locations, the company handles over 400,000 items, including vehicles, retail goods, luxury items, and properties.
‘All 44 Fisker vehicles have been carefully collected and transported to John Pye’s secure Birmingham facility, where they are being professionally stored and readied for public auction.
‘The vehicles will be released for bidding in phases during the upcoming weeks, providing interested purchasers with multiple opportunities to partake in this unique disposal event.’
The next three Ocean vehicles will be available for online sale on Monday, April 21st.
John Pye Auctions comments: ‘These premium, eco-friendly vehicles represent a rare opportunity for both private buyers and members of the motor trade to acquire via online auction.’
John Pye Auctions confirmed the cars were recovered last night and are arriving at their Birmingham site today and tomorrow before being prepared for sale.
There is no confirmed date for when the eight Fisker Oceans recovered from Nottingham will be available at auction, with John Pye Auctions stating they’ll be ‘drip fed’ into sales.
Uncertain Future for 419 UK Fisker Ocean Owners
The hundreds of UK owners of Fisker Ocean vehicles, delivered since December 2023, face the realistic risk of owning vehicles that may become irreparable.
Numerous customers reported issues with their electric SUVs even before the company’s bankruptcy filing. These problems included brake malfunctions, rapid battery depletion, and windows randomly opening while parked.
Upon reporting these issues to Fisker, owners found the company’s UK representatives became increasingly unresponsive as the company’s financial situation worsened.
Owner Kevin Mulligan informed
When attempting to address vehicle faults, such as achieving only half the advertised range, he encountered significant challenges.
He explained: ‘I would communicate with a sales representative, and then they would be made redundant. Then I’d be transferred to another person, who would connect me with an engineer – only for them to also be made redundant. Consequently, there are no on-the-road services or support.’
Leasing firms swiftly removed the brand from their catalogues following the liquidation announcement, and the remaining UK sales centre in Milton Keynes closed shortly after the bankruptcy.
Mr. Mulligan managed to return his vehicle and recover a portion of his £70,000 from Santander, his leasing provider.
However, owners who purchased their vehicles outright may not be as fortunate.
Fisker ambitiously aimed to challenge Tesla’s dominance in the EV market with its stylish, zero-emission family model, offering a range of 275 to 390 miles depending on specification. However, the company collapsed shortly after its UK market entry.
Henrik Fisker, car designer and CEO of Fisker (pictured), stated in June 2024: ‘Like other companies in the electric vehicle industry, we have encountered various market and macroeconomic headwinds that have affected our operational efficiency.’
The Fisker Ocean featured a ‘fully vegan’ interior with cloth materials sourced from reclaimed fishing nets, T-shirts, and rubber.
The electric SUV boasted unique features, including a rotating 17.1-inch infotainment screen navigable between landscape and portrait views with the push of a button when stationary.
Mid-range and higher Fisker Ocean models included a ‘doggie power window’ in the rear, allowing owners to lower the rear glass for ventilation for pets in the boot.
American Lease, a company, agreed to purchase approximately 3,300 cars from Fisker’s remaining inventory last year for $46.3 million, having already paid around $42.5 million and acquired approximately 1,100 Oceans.
They further invested $2.5 million for five-year access to Fisker’s servers to provide over-the-air updates for existing customers facing vehicle issues.
However, after this five-year period, UK owners might find themselves with potentially unusable EVs if over-the-air updates are no longer accessible.
Significant concerns also exist regarding the availability of replacement mechanical parts for the vehicles due to component failures, accident damage, and सामान्य wear and tear.
Without parts supply, repairs become impossible.
A critical shortage of qualified EV mechanics in independent garages further complicates repair prospects for these vehicles.
Fisker’s closure occurred eight years after its launch by Henrik Fisker, a veteran Danish car designer known for leading the BMW Z8 sports car development in the 1990s.
He had ambitious plans to expand the EV range beyond the Ocean, launched in June 2023.
The business model relied on parts supplier Magna to assemble vehicles, avoiding substantial factory construction investments.
Over 400 Fisker Oceans have been delivered to the UK since December 2023. Owners could face losses of £70,000 with fears of vehicles becoming unrepairable.
The company has been plagued by problems surrounding its EV SUV, the Ocean, since its 2023 launch.
Henrik Fisker presented Pope Francis with plans for an all-electric Fisker Ocean Popemobile at the Vatican in 2021.
The Ocean EV was the first and only model brought to market by the Californian start-up.
The vehicles incorporated several distinctive features.
Cabin materials were entirely vegan. Each model featured a rotating 17.1-inch infotainment screen switchable between landscape and portrait views, and a ‘doggie power window’ was available to provide rear boot ventilation for pets.
Ambitions for the long-range electric SUVs were substantial, with the sustainability-focused brand even consulting with the Pope in 2021 to propose an EV ‘Popemobile’ based on an Ocean adapted with a glass cube-shaped cupola.
However, even divine intervention could not salvage the struggling EV start-up.
Projected to produce 50,000 vehicles annually by 2023, the brand encountered consistent production target failures, supply chain delays, and mechanical issues.
Only approximately 10,000 Oceans were produced in total, with just under 5,000 delivered to various markets, including the UK.
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