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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Porsche today showed off two of its new products at IAA in Munich. The long-awaited Cayenne EV showed up with a new trick: an 11kW induction charger.
Details are still a little sparse at the moment, but it looks like a forthcoming Cayenne, which we hope to get a better look at later this month, will have 11kW wireless charging capability. Also new: the Cayenne will DC charge at up to 400kW, one of the fastest charging cars we’ve seen outside of China. But back to induction charging…
Porsche’s press release didn’t mention the type of induction charging, whether it would be compatible with other types of inductive chargers, or whether this was something that would come on other Porsches, wider VW vehicles, or even across the industry. The price is listed at €2000 for the option on the car and €5000 for the charging pad.
How inductive charging works in detail
Inductive charging is known from smartphones, but also from electric toothbrushes. The energy is transferred through the air via a magnetic field. For this purpose, a transmitter coil made of copper and ferrites is located in the base plate. Alternating current flows through this coil, which generates a magnetic field.
Porsche’s innovative concept uses ultra-wideband technology to determine the vehicle’s relative position above the floor plate. When the optimal parking position is reached, the driver is informed. In the vehicle’s secondary coil, which acts as a receiver unit, the magnetic field then generates alternating current. A rectifier then converts this into direct current so that the Cayenne’s high-voltage battery can store it.
The mechanism works by showing the charger on the front-view display. The driver must align the car to a certain place on the front of the car. Once over the spot, the car will lower itself to within 4-6 inches of the charging pad.
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Porsche wireless charging
Up to 11 kW
Efficiency up to 90 %
Active cooling
Charging pad 50 kg and 1,17 m 46“ long
Car lowers automatically when it parks over the pad
Motion sensor shuts down the plate when living beings or metal is being detected
Price 2.000 Euro vehicle, 5.000 Euro for the inductive plate, plus an electrician
At 240V, the 11kW Inductive charger would have a ~46A load. Porsche says the unit is up to 90% efficient, which means that the draw would be at least 12.2kW, which is about a 48A load at 240V.
Local media got a first hand look:
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Honda is finally getting ready to show off a full-size electric motorcycle, and it’s coming with something we rarely see on two wheels: fast charging. The company confirmed it will reveal more details about the bike on September 16, and all signs point to it being the long-awaited production version of the EV Fun concept first teased last year.
That’s a big deal. While we’ve seen plenty of electric scooters and small commuter bikes from Honda and other legacy manufacturers, a full-size electric motorcycle with legitimate highway performance – and fast charging – would put Honda into much more serious territory.
Most current e-motos in this category either rely on slower Level 2 charging or have limited battery capacity (with a few notable exceptions like the LiveWire One). A lack of DC fast charging can make long-distance travel impractical on an electric motorcycle, or at least time-consuming with longer coffee breaks while Level 2 charging. Honda’s decision to integrate fast charging could be the differentiator that makes their bike a real contender for riders who don’t want to be tied down by long charge times.
While we don’t have full specs yet, teaser images of the bike clearly showcase a CCS Combo 2 charge port, which is used in Europe for fast charging.
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It’s an interesting move, especially since the company previously described the range of the upcoming model as being sufficient for urban use, without providing solid battery capacity information.
The bike looks nearly identical to the EV Fun concept, with a modern naked sport-bike style and Honda’s classic design language.
From the renders and spy shots floating around, it’s clearly meant to compete in the same class as mid-size combustion motorcycles like Honda’s CB series. That means it won’t be a tiny urban commuter; we’re talking about something built for the highway.
In addition to a dearth of info regarding the battery size, Honda hasn’t shared exact range or pricing yet, but those three specs will make or break this launch. Range has been the Achilles’ heel of many electric motorcycles, with real-world numbers often falling short of what riders expect from a gas bike, making faster highway-speed trips trickier without fast charging stops.
Price is another key factor. If Honda tries to compete head-to-head with Harley’s LiveWire or the high-dollar Zero models, it could find itself in a three-way battle to attract new riders. But if it manages to slot into a more accessible price bracket, we could see Honda move a lot of units.
While Honda says we’ll get the official details on September 16, the end-of-year timing also lines up well with the EICMA show in Milan this November. Don’t be surprised if Honda makes a bigger splash there, giving the bike its proper global debut in front of the industry.
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Kia launched the EV5 in South Korea, its stylish new Sportage-sized electric SUV. With prices starting at just $35,000, the Kia EV5 arrives as an affordable SUV that’s built for the masses. But those in the US may never get to see it.
Kia launches the EV5 in Korea at an affordable price
After opening orders in the UK earlier this week, Kia launched the EV5 in its home market of South Korea on Wednesday.
Like overseas, the electric SUV is available in three variants: Air, Earth, and GT-Line. Powered by an 81.4 kWh battery, the EV5 offers a range of up to 460 km (285 miles).
A single front-mounted electric motor provides up to 215 hp (160 kW) and 295 Nm max torque. It can also recharge from 10% to 80% in about 30 minutes using a 350 kW charger.
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The EV5 is 1,875 mm wide, 4,610 mm long, and 1,675 mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2,750 mm, which is slightly smaller than that of the Tesla Model Y. To give you a better idea, that’s 10 mm wider, 70 mm longer, and 30 mm taller than the Kia Sportage.
The Kia EV5 (Source: Hyundai Motor Group)
The extended wheelbase provides “best-in-class” rear passenger space, according to Kia, with 1,041 mm second-row legroom.
Despite an upright stance like the larger EV9, the EV5 still has a sporty look with Kia’s latest design elements. The vertically stacked LED headlights and slim DRLs with Star Map lighting add to the bold styling.
The Kia EV5 boasts “best-in-class” second row legroom (Source: Hyundai Motor Group)
The interior features Kia’s latest ccNC infotainment system, featuring dual 12.3″ driver cluster and infotainment screens in a panoramic display. Plus, there’s an added 5″ AC display.
Kia introduced several new features, including a new sound bar and display theme. Through a partnership with Disney, the EV5 will play welcome and goodbye tunes, EV-specific sounds, and more.
The interior of the Kia EV5 (Source: Hyundai Motor Group)
The base EV5 Air starts at 48.55 million won ($35,000) in Korea, while the Earth trim is priced from 52.3 million won ($37,600). Upgrading to the sporty GT-Line costs 53.4 million won ($38,400).
With government and local subsidies, Kia expects the EV5 to be available for purchase at around 40 million won ($28,800).
Starting Price
Driving Range
Kia EV5 Air
48.55 million won ($35,000)
460 km (285 miles)
Kia EV5 Earth
52.3 million won ($37,600)
460 km (285 miles)
Kia EV5 GT-Line
53.4 million won ($38,400)
460 km (285 miles)
Kia EV5 prices and driving range by trim in South Korea
In comparison, the base Tesla Model Y RWD starts at 52.99 million won ($38,000) and has a driving range of up to 400 km (248 miles).
Although Kia plans to launch the EV5 in North America, it will be exclusively sold in Canada. We’ve seen a few EV5 models testing in the US, sparking speculation (or hope) that it could arrive, but don’t get your hopes up too soon. The last official statement from Kia still says the EV5 will be exclusive to Canada in the North American market.
What do you think of Kia’s new electric SUV? Would you buy one in the US? With Trump’s tariff war, don’t get your hopes up.
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