Having revived the Fisker brand with the EMotion a couple of years ago, Fisker Inc is now pushing ahead with its first mass-market electric SUV, the Ocean. So named because many of its components have been recycled from items pulled from the ocean, the car will be shown at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which officially kicks off tomorrow in Las Vegas.

As is the norm these days, the Ocean is a mid-sized crossover with seating for five, and as you’d expect from a company headed by notable car designer Henrik Fisker, it’s a heavily stylised take on the type. It’s a fairly clean design with large squared-off wheel arches, slim head- and tail lights and a shallow roofline, with the only prominent ornamentation being the rather large lower grille.

This grille sits under a downturned moustache of sorts, which also carries the front indicators. Speaking of which, the discrete rear indicators are positioned in the D-pillars aft of the window line kink; the company says this enables lorry drivers to see those indicators better.

The minimalist theme continues inside, where you’ll find two screens (three if you count the head-up display) – a small instrument display and a large Tesla-style portrait touchscreen. The centre console that houses the latter is bent at the lower edge, where the gear selector and five physical toggle switches are located.

All the materials are said to be “vegan”, including polycarbonate and polyurethane surfaces, rayon backing and recycled carpeting made from the nylon of abandoned fishing nets. Dinamica microfibre is also utilised as a substitute for suede leather, as is discarded rubber waste from tyre manufacturing.

Neat touches include what Fisker calls a California Mode, in which the side windows, the sunroof and even the rear quarter windows and rear windscreen can be opened to bring in some fresh air. There’s also a Karaoke feature that shows the lyrics of a song in the head-up display.

Technical details are slim at the moment, with the company only touting a targeted range of between 250 and 300 miles (400 to 480 km) through a standard-fit 80 kWh lithium-ion battery. The company says critical components such as the latter is included in the strategic global and localised supply chain it has secured – particularly important considering the circumstances that bankrupted the first Fisker entity.

In the United States, Fisker owners will have access to Electrify America’s network of DC fast chargers, said to be the largest in the country with around 800 charging sites set to be built or under development by December 2021. The company will bundle in a certain amount of free charging with each vehicle, although the car can be charged at any station with a Combined Charging System (CCS) Type 2 plug.

With Electrify America’s 350 kW chargers, the Ocean can be charged from 15% to 80% capacity in just 30 minutes, adding more than 200 miles (320 km) of range. A full-length solar panel roof augments the usual battery charging and is said to provide up to 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of free, clean range every year.

Fisker aims to kick off production of the Ocean at the end of 2021, with the first high-volume deliveries expected the following year. It plans to produce the car in the United States, Europe and China, and projects a total of one million vehicles to be built between 2022 and 2027.

That’s a tall order, and to reach that goal the company has announced some fairly aggressive pricing. The car will retail starting at US$37,499 (RM154,000), which will drop to US$29,999 (RM123,200) after federal incentives. There will also be a flexible lease option starting from US$379 (RM1,600) per month. The company is already collecting reservations at US$250 (RM1,000) per unit.

-paultan