Fisker unveils Ronin: an electric convertible to compete with Tesla Roadster
Fisker has unveiled its next electric car, if it can survive long enough to build it, the new Ronin: an electric convertible to compete with Tesla Roadster.
When Henrik Fisker first launched Fisker Inc., his latest EV startup after the previous one failed, the company unveiled a bunch of prototypes, including the Fisker EMotion.
The Ronin was first teased last month when the company claimed that it will have 600 miles of range.
The electric supercar appears to be the final version of the EMotion, which was put on the back burner in favor of the Ocean electric SUV.
Fisker managed to grab a lot of headlines by claiming that the Ocean would be a $35,000 electric SUV.
However, it is only producing a $70,000 version of the SUV and it is losing a lot of money on it – meaning that reservation holders shouldn’t hold their breath for the $35,000 version.
In the meantime, Fisker appears to be going to the completely other side of the market with the Ronin.
At its ‘Fisker Product Vision Day 2023’ today, the automaker unveiled the first prototype of the Ronin, an electric GT supercar.
Henrik Fisker called it “the world’s first four-door electric convertible,” but that’s a bit of a stretch with the rear doors being small butterfly doors.
Nonetheless, it can sit five people, according to Fisker, which is impressive, but they didn’t show the interior in the unveiling.
Electrek’s Jamie Dow was at the scene of the unveiling, but he says that the very dark window hide the interior and the company is not making accessible.
This is very much going to be in the supercar category with a 0 to 60 mph in “about 2 seconds”.
The CEO also mentioned about 1,000 horsepower.
The few specs that Fisker released during the event made it clear that they want this to be a Tesla Roadster competitor if that car ever makes it to market.
But during the presentation, Fisker tried hard not to mention Tesla. When the CEO explained how they plan to achieve a range of 600 miles, he said:
There is already some integrated battery pack out there, and of course, we know about those, but we have actually looked at something different.
Anyone familiar with Tesla’s 4680 cell and structural battery pack would believe that he is referring to those when saying that there are “some integrated battery packs out there”, but he says something different?
The CEO continued:
We are looking to integrated the cells into the structure of the body and that will give us our goal of getting to 600 miles of range.
That’s exactly what Tesla’s structural battery pack is: cells are part of the structure.
It sounds like the technology behind the Ronin is not fully baked just yet and it doesn’t have to be since Fisker says that it is coming “toward the end of 2025”.
The company didn’t mention pricing, but it looks like it will be comfortably in the six figures.
Electrek’s Take
There are quite a few cool things about the Ronin, but it’s hard to take it super seriously with Fisker’s credibility right now.
By that I mean that the company is now having issues making its Ocean program financially sustainable. It is draining money, losing $120 million a quarter while only producing the most expensive version of the Ocean.
Yet, it unveiled 3 new vehicles at its event today.
It sounds like it is juggling too many vehicle programs for its current financial health. They claim that all these vehicles are coming in 2025, when a $300 million convertible note it just issues will mature.
Unless they can have a miraculous financial turn that make them profitable by then, they will see a significant dilution of their stock, making harder for them to raise money.
Fisker definitely has some cool ideas that I wish would make it to the market, but at this point, I think they should focus to make the Ocean a successful program, which it is not and I think Fisker doesn’t know that.
During the event, Henrik appeared to take a victory round for the Ocean for having a bunch of reservations for it, but that’s not what makes a successful vehicle program.
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After a month off trying to wrap our heads around all the chaos surrounding EVs, solar, and everything else in Washington, we’re back with the biggest EV news stories of the day from Tesla, Ford, Volvo, and everyone else on today’s hiatus-busting episode of Quick Charge!
It just gets worse and worse for the Tesla true believers – especially those willing to put their money where Elon’s mouth is! One believer is set to lose nearly $50,000 betting on Tesla’s ability to deliver a Robotaxi service by the end of June (didn’t happen), and the controversial CEO’s most recent spat with President Trump had TSLA down nearly 5% in pre-morning trading.
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Hyundai is getting ready to shake things up. A new electric crossover SUV, likely the Hyundai IONIQ 2, is set to debut in the coming months. It will sit below the Kona Electric as Hyundai expands its entry-level EV lineup.
Is Hyundai launching the IONIQ 2 in 2026?
After launching the Inster late last year, Hyundai is already preparing to introduce a new entry-level EV in Europe.
Xavier Martinet, President and CEO of Hyundai Europe, confirmed that the new EV will be revealed “in the next few months.” It will be built in Europe and scheduled to go on sale in mid-2026.
Hyundai’s new electric crossover is expected to be a twin to the Kia EV2, which will likely arrive just ahead of it next year.
It will be underpinned by the same E-GMP platform, which powers all IONIQ and Kia EV models (EV3, EV4, EV5, EV6, and EV9).
Like the Kia EV3, it will likely be available with either a 58.3 kWh or 81.4 kWh battery pack option. The former provides a WLTP range of 267 miles while the latter is rated with up to 372 miles. All trims are powered by a single electric motor at the front, producing 201 hp and 209 lb-ft of torque.
Although it may share the same underpinnings as the EV2, Hyundai’s new entry-level EV will feature an advanced new software and infotainment system.
According to Autocar, the interior will represent a “step change” in terms of usability and features. The new system enables new functions, such as ambient lighting and sounds that adjust depending on the drive mode.
It’s expected to showcase Hyundai’s powerful new Pleos software and infotainment system. As an end-to-end software platform, Pleos connects everything from the infotainment system (Pleos Connect) to the Vehicle Operating System (OS) and the cloud.
Pleos is set to power Hyundai’s upcoming software-defined vehicles (SDVs) with new features like autonomous driving and real-time data analysis.
As an Android-based system, Pleos Connect features a “smartphone-like UI” with new functions including multi-window viewing and an AI voice assistant.
The new electric crossover is expected to start at around €30,000 ($35,400), or slightly less than the Kia EV3, priced from €35,990 ($42,500). It will sit between the Inster and Kona Electric in Hyundai’s lineup.
Hyundai said that it would launch the first EV with its next-gen infotainment system in Q2 2026. Will it be the IONIQ 2? Hyundai is expected to unveil the new entry-level EV at IAA Mobility in September. Stay tuned for more info. We’ll keep you updated with the latest.
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Tesla has unveiled its lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery cell factory in Nevada and claims that it is nearly ready to start production.
Like several other automakers using LFP cells, Tesla relies heavily on Chinese manufacturers for its battery cell supply.
Tesla’s cheapest electric vehicles all utilize LFP cells, and its entire range of energy storage products, Megapacks and Powerwalls, also employ the more affordable LFP cell chemistry from Chinese manufacturers.
This reliance on Chinese manufacturers is less than ideal and particularly complicated for US automakers and battery pack manufacturers like Tesla, amid an ongoing trade war between the US and virtually the entire world, including China.
As of last year, a 25% tariff already applied to battery cells from China, but this increased to more than 80% under Trump before he paused some tariffs on China. It remains unclear where they will end up by the time negotiations are complete and the trade war is resolved, but many expect it to be higher.
Prior to Trump taking power, Tesla had already planned to build a small LFP battery factory in the US to avoid the 25% tariffs.
The automaker had secured older manufacturing equipment from one of its battery cell suppliers, CATL, and planned to deploy it in the US for small-scale production.
Tesla has now released new images of the factory in Nevada and claimed that it is “nearing completion”:
Here are a few images from inside the factory (via Tesla):
Previous reporting stated that Tesla aims to produce about 10 GWh of LFP battery cells per year at the new factory.
The cells are expected to be used in Tesla’s Megapack, produced in the US. Tesla currently has a capacity to produce 40 GWh of Megapacks annually at its factory in California. The company is also working on a new Megapack factory in Texas.
Ford is also developing its own LFP battery cell factory in Michigan, but this facility is significantly larger, with a planned production capacity of 35 GWh.
Electrek’s Take
It’s nice to see this in the US. LFP was a US/Canada invention, with Arumugam Manthiram and John B. Goodenough doing much of the early work, and researchers in Quebec making several contributions to help with commercialization.
But China saw the potential early and invested heavily in volume manufacturing of LFP cells and it now dominates the market.
Tesla is now producing most of its vehicles with LFP cells and all its stationary energy storage products.
It makes sense to invest in your own production. However, Tesla is unlikely to catch up to BYD and CATL, which dominate LFP cell production.
The move will help Tesla avoid tariffs on a small percentage of its Megapacks produced in the US. Ford’s effort is more ambitious.
It’s worth noting that both Ford’s and Tesla’s LFP plants were planned before Trump’s tariffs, which have had limited success in bringing manufacturing back to the US.
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