BMW US Plant Executive joins Fisker to help it scale up
Fisker’s global manufacturing will be get a new head - Alpay Uguz, a longtime BMW executive who led the Bavarian automaker into the Chinese market and most recently was in charge of the BMW’s Spartanburg plant in South Carolina.
Mr Uguz will take over officially on July 14 and will report directly to Henrik Fisker, the CEO of the company. Ahead of him is not an easy task - scaling up the production all the way to 1 million units per year by 2027. Fisker Ocean enters production in November and its entire next year’s stock has been already booked.
The new Senior Vice President of Global Manufacturing will focus on new and lean manufacturing techniques to reduce the number of parts involved in the process. It seems everyone is paying attention to Tesla’s Giga Casting approach.
Mr Uguz will play a key role in developing the new EV with Foxconn - the Pear - which will be built in Ohio at the former GM Lordstown factory. The first steps in this joint-venture will be to help Foxconn find the best way to build the Fisker’s next EV - Foxconn is new to the automotive business and will need all the help it can get to deliver for Fisker.
Although outsourcing manufacturing seems to have put Fisker in a very good position compared to other EV startups initially, the company is contemplating its own factory. For now Fisker is playing it safe, hiring the best talent and contracting with the best manufacturers out there. The company still has over $1 billion in cash reserves and it is taking full advantage of recent cuts made by Tesla and Rivian by hiring experienced staff cut by its competitors.
With the production of Fisker Ocean on the horizon and first deposits already being taken for the limited One edition, the company is finally entering the first stages of positive cash flow and it will be interesting to see the actual numbers on its next quarterly report. As long as the Magna Steyr factory delivers cars on time and without major issues, Fisker should be heading for calm waters.
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