Do you feel like Fisker botched the Ocean launch?
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Too early to tell if it is affecting anything in the long run. Early on, I knew that the One would probably go up the reservation list fairly high. But they will sell all 5000 without a doubt. Yes, every new car launch could be better.
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Durring the pre-order process, one screen had an item $2500 0r so for transport and delivery out of the $5000.
There was no other mention of it after that screen.
I think it would help to perhaps ease peoples minds if that itemization was accounted for on your final reservation page.
There was no other mention of it after that screen.
I think it would help to perhaps ease peoples minds if that itemization was accounted for on your final reservation page.
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I agree with @MTN Ranger in terms of how their process ultimately affects the 5000 ONE's overall. Without a doubt this launch needed to be better. There should have been more information. I realize he doesn't want his competitors in on certain things too early. I also realize they are way behind on finalizing many things for the Ocean like the UI. I also don't fault Henrik for asking for a $5000 deposit as he is a startup and not an established brand.
But in my opinion they could have relaxed the non-refundable portion around this. I've stated this before in another thread but I believe the non-refundable piece should have been tweaked into allowing you 3 days at the time of delivery to decide if you wanted to keep your ONE or not. After those 3 days your deposit becomes non-refundable. I reference my own experience with the First Edition EV6 GT-Line launch. The EV6 launch was a mess as well but there were some positives looking back on it now. In fact they (KIA) didn't require a deposit ahead of time. You only needed your reservation fee in place. (By the way KIA only made 1500 of the FE EV6...not 5000). When the car arrived you had a limited amount of time to test drive and decide to keep the car; else they would sell it at large. However, prior to releasing the FE EV6, KIA had already made the car available to several respected journalists for test drives & reviews. I never physically drove my FE EV6 GT-Line before I bought it but at least I had 15-20 respectable in-depth reviews to study prior to making my decision. Then once it arrived I was given the chance to drive the car and ask all the questions I needed to secure. We never had that chance with the ONE. All we've had are some random auto show appearances and pop-up stores (which most of us couldn't attend) where the car is mostly fake on the inside and can't be driven because so many components are not yet finalized. That and the paper stats are what we have to run on. So for those reasons I feel like Fisker could have modified the non-refundable deposit rule. If the car is actually as good as he thinks it is...as we all expect it will be...then there should have been no problem relaxing that rule. Because, just like the EV6, there will be 10 other people that will jump at the chance to buy that same car if the original person decides to walk for whatever reason.
Here's one great positive I'd like to highlight about Fisker's launch. If you actually move ahead with the per-order and 5K NR deposit, when the cars actually are ready and begin deliveries...ONLY First Edition buyers will get their cars first. No Extreme buyers will get their cars before the ONE's are delivered. The terms state this. With the KIA launch, KIA allowed regular joe-blows to buy any trim (even the lowest WIND trim) before the first edition cars were delivered. What's the point of doing a first edition if everyone else gets their car before you do? It was pretty annoying to see johnny-come-lately's running around, enjoying their cars when I spent over a year waiting for my car to be available. KIA botched many other things. But overall these were my concerns with Fisker's launch. There were many other crappy things with the KIA launch like sleazy dealerships trying to mark up the FE EV6 by 10K, a massive lack of communication and the first edition badging was very cheap in comparison to what the ONE is offering.
Also, while Fisker is still keeping some things under wraps, at least he provides little updates almost every other day about the progress of the car on social media. I haven't seen a week go by where I don't see him engage in this way. Even if the updates are are miniscule. Their customer support has been quick to respond, even if they can't answer every single question we have. With KIA you would go months without nothing.
With all that said. I still have a very strong feeling about this car and so my Mariana Blue with black F5's is now officially ordered.
But in my opinion they could have relaxed the non-refundable portion around this. I've stated this before in another thread but I believe the non-refundable piece should have been tweaked into allowing you 3 days at the time of delivery to decide if you wanted to keep your ONE or not. After those 3 days your deposit becomes non-refundable. I reference my own experience with the First Edition EV6 GT-Line launch. The EV6 launch was a mess as well but there were some positives looking back on it now. In fact they (KIA) didn't require a deposit ahead of time. You only needed your reservation fee in place. (By the way KIA only made 1500 of the FE EV6...not 5000). When the car arrived you had a limited amount of time to test drive and decide to keep the car; else they would sell it at large. However, prior to releasing the FE EV6, KIA had already made the car available to several respected journalists for test drives & reviews. I never physically drove my FE EV6 GT-Line before I bought it but at least I had 15-20 respectable in-depth reviews to study prior to making my decision. Then once it arrived I was given the chance to drive the car and ask all the questions I needed to secure. We never had that chance with the ONE. All we've had are some random auto show appearances and pop-up stores (which most of us couldn't attend) where the car is mostly fake on the inside and can't be driven because so many components are not yet finalized. That and the paper stats are what we have to run on. So for those reasons I feel like Fisker could have modified the non-refundable deposit rule. If the car is actually as good as he thinks it is...as we all expect it will be...then there should have been no problem relaxing that rule. Because, just like the EV6, there will be 10 other people that will jump at the chance to buy that same car if the original person decides to walk for whatever reason.
Here's one great positive I'd like to highlight about Fisker's launch. If you actually move ahead with the per-order and 5K NR deposit, when the cars actually are ready and begin deliveries...ONLY First Edition buyers will get their cars first. No Extreme buyers will get their cars before the ONE's are delivered. The terms state this. With the KIA launch, KIA allowed regular joe-blows to buy any trim (even the lowest WIND trim) before the first edition cars were delivered. What's the point of doing a first edition if everyone else gets their car before you do? It was pretty annoying to see johnny-come-lately's running around, enjoying their cars when I spent over a year waiting for my car to be available. KIA botched many other things. But overall these were my concerns with Fisker's launch. There were many other crappy things with the KIA launch like sleazy dealerships trying to mark up the FE EV6 by 10K, a massive lack of communication and the first edition badging was very cheap in comparison to what the ONE is offering.
Also, while Fisker is still keeping some things under wraps, at least he provides little updates almost every other day about the progress of the car on social media. I haven't seen a week go by where I don't see him engage in this way. Even if the updates are are miniscule. Their customer support has been quick to respond, even if they can't answer every single question we have. With KIA you would go months without nothing.
With all that said. I still have a very strong feeling about this car and so my Mariana Blue with black F5's is now officially ordered.
Botched. Personally, I don't care about the 5K non-refundable deposit (even though its a lot of money to me). I understand that there is a price for exclusivity. Additionally, Fisker probably feels the continued need to raise capital since the latest capital raise failed. 5K*5K = 25M. It helps to alleviate a small amount of that pressure, especially before the opening production run. As others have stated, it also weeds out those who are willing to wait for reviews/experience centres. My problem with the launch is just the communication. If Fisker was to outline why some of these decisions are being made it would ease people's minds a bit. Then they could have turned a few more Extremes into Ones. At that point it would have mattered less the information people still didn't know about the car, as long as people still felt comfortable with the approach.
Hey @bronco7777 I may want to meet you somewhere in the North Atlanta area when you get your Ocean early next year. 😀
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I would agree. at this time it seems like Mr. Fisker is providing too few of an update and expecting people would put their blind faith in him. Maybe he is right, and people will but I am not sure he can get to masses with this approach. He is a good designer, but I dont think he has a charismatic personality to build that blind following.
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I'm certainly not interested in blindly following anyone.
What I have invested in here (simply the car, not stocks) is his approach in setting up (in my opinion) the right partnerships and the first true EV design that speaks to my tastes.
Blindly following a particular (charismitic) leader sounds like another unnamed person I'm afraid.
What I have invested in here (simply the car, not stocks) is his approach in setting up (in my opinion) the right partnerships and the first true EV design that speaks to my tastes.
Blindly following a particular (charismitic) leader sounds like another unnamed person I'm afraid.
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I am glad you are seeing something that I am missing to see.
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I agree with most of what has been said here. I think they somewhat botch it because of the of nonrefundable part. If the Ocean is as good as it being advertised then Fisker should feel very confident that very few will cancel and there will be enough Extreme and perhaps even a few borderline Ultra reservation holders that will step in and scoop those few cancellations. I also think the launch edition should have been a much smaller number like half of the 5k and they should have done more aesthetic touches inside or outside to make it stand out more from the other trims. The One is basically an Extreme with a few additional hardly noticeable attributes.
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All paint colors will be open to ONE holders at no extra cost as well as all wheel variants.
The Extreme and lower trims will pay extra for the additional paint schemes and some wheel variants.
That is the actual choice between the ONE and lower trims.
Etreme pre-orders can avoid the 5K entry. That is the benefit of waiting for the Extreme.
Makes perfect sense to restrict the ONE to only serious consideration.
I have an early 2022 reservation, and I got the email offering me a pre-order on the One.
Will you go with the ONE or will wait for other trim?
I am still debating, but I am leaning toward going with the Ultra.
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If I thought they botched it, I don’t anymore. I admit it’s because I was able to order a One. 😂 I actually didn’t think they botched the launch either way.
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I admit, it does seem more reasonable from inside the barn LOL
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