Here's What You Need to Know About the Fisker Model Y Rival

author: Manish Kharinta   

Electric car startup Fisker Inc. plans to introduce a mass-market high volume electric SUV by 2021.  Company founder and former BMW and Aston Martin designer Henrik Fisker has said that the company's new car will be priced around $40,000.

The EV will be manufactured outside of the U.S. The electric SUV will be a global offering and will be sold in North America, Europe, China and other markets.

Henrik Fisker himself is the car's cheif designer. The Danish born designer is an automotive industry veteran and is best known for designing iconic luxury cars, including the BMW Z8, Aston Martin DB9. His Fisker Karma was the world's first premium plug-in hybrid, winning the International Design Awards Product Design of the Year.

In a tweet this week, Fisker offered the first look of this high volume battery-electric vehicle. Fisker said that the SUV gets an emotion stirring design and features a technologically advanced intuitive user experience.

The company is in its third incarnation after its EV battery supplier A123 Systems recalled all of its batteries and filed for bankruptcy in 2012, leaving Fisker without a battery supplier. Fisker resigned as chairman from Fisker Automotive in March 2013 amid disagreements about business strategy.

The latest incarnation, Fisker Inc., is supported by a team of fewer than a hundred people and is aggressively expanding its workforce.

The 2012 Fisker Karma, the world's first premium plug-in hybrid electric car.

The new electric vehicle features a crossover SUV stance along with sleek headlamps, sculpted bodywork and flared wheel arches.

Inside the cabin, the SUV will offer passengers plenty of cabin space, a large head-up (HUD) display and panoramic style roof similar to the Tesla Model X. Fisker claims the large glass roof will not compromise the structural integrity of the SUV.

The SUV will be offered in both rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive variants, with all-wheel drive models getting a dual motor setup. Unlike earlier reports, the unnamed high volume SUV will not get solid-state batteries, but will be offered with "enhanced" 80 kWh lithium-ion battery packs.

The company is aiming for an all-electric driving range of 300 miles. It is also possible that the solid-state lithium batteries Fisker is co-developing, may not be ready for the upcoming sedan slated to follow the sub-$40,000 SUV.

The solid-state batteries that Fisker is developing weigh half as much as the current lithium-ion battery packs used by EVs, therefore would have been capable of offering 2.5 times the energy density.

Equipped with solid-state batteries, the upcoming model is capable of recharging its batteries completely in less than 10 minutes, according to Fisker. The solid state batteries will have the enhanced safety of Fisker's other batteries, since solid-state batteries are less volatile than lithium-ion battery packs due to the lack of electrolytes.

According to CEO Henrik Fisker, the car has been designed to look futuristic and versatile to cater to its high volume target.

Gauging from the first look, the company's focus on versatility. The $40,000 SUV might be a worthy rival to the recently unveiled Tesla Model Y.

Like Volvo has done with "Care by Volvo", FIsker plans on offering a subscription service for the new crossover. The company plans to introduce the subscription plan sometime in the near future.

Manish Kharinta

Manish Kharinta is a automotive writer based in the Los Angeles area. He has worked for automotive industry websites TheSmokingClutch.com, CarDekho.com and CarBikeindia.com. His experience ranges from covering auto shows, to car reviews and breaking automotive news. Manish aims to bring forth his unique perspective on automotive design and technological innovations in the automotive industry.