Fisker Ocean phantom battery drain complaints arise amid sales woes as company abandons direct sales for no-haggle dealer distribution

While the Fisker Ocean was generally positively received, one common thread in the reviews was that the EV simply wasn't ready for the limelight. Now, early adopters are facing issues seemingly relating to software, QC, and poorly thought-out features.

The issues being brought to light are myriad, ranging from mild problems with the infotainment screen randomly turning on to phantom battery drain sapping 65% of the EVs battery capacity, leaving its owner stranded.

Other Fisker owners also posted to Reddit complaining about a lack of standard features. Many lament that hill hold functionality is missing from the Fisker Ocean, potentially constituting a safety issue at lights or stops located on inclines. Some even went so far as to say that their Fisker Ocean will sometimes hold itself on an incline but stop for no apparent reason after a few seconds.

These complaints come at a time when Fisker seems to already be struggling to maintain sales. According to a leaked internal document obtained by Tech Crunch, Fisker has repeatedly failed to meet its publicly-stated goal of 300 vehicles sold per day.

In fact, the documentation indicated that Fisker had a separate internal goal of between 100 and 200 EVs per day for the American market. Meanwhile, Fisker was only selling through "one to two dozen" Fisker Ocean SUVs per day in North America. Perhaps as a measure to increase sales, Fisker recently announced that it was looking to partner with US dealerships to move more EVs.

“As we saw throughout 2023, the EV market has changed dramatically. As a high-growth startup, Fisker is transforming its strategic efforts by putting in place the brand accessibility and sales channels required to satisfy increasing demand for the Fisker Ocean and to prepare for launch of additional future models. As a result, we are evolving our business model and intend to add as many as 50 dealer partners in the US and Canada and a similar number of dealer locations in Europe this year. In keeping with our asset light strategy, I expect the Dealer Partnership model should enable Fisker to expand its sales and delivery network at a faster pace.” – Henrik Fisker, Chairman and CEO of Fisker Inc.

The announcement went on to claim that the company will enforce no-haggle pricing, which is a strategy that has been met with criticism in the past. On the one hand, it puts a lot of power in the dealers' hands, but it also helps consumers easily cross-shop and compare cars.

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