36 Facts About Henrik Fisker

Henrik Fisker was born on 10 August 1963 and is a Danish automotive designer and entrepreneur based in Los Angeles, California, US.

Henrik Fisker is best known as the founder of Fisker Automotive and Fisker Inc, and as a designer of luxury cars.

Henrik Fisker failed to meet production deadlines despite significant federal and private investment.

Henrik Fisker graduated with a degree in transportation design from the Art Center College of Design in Vevey, Switzerland, in 1989.

In 1989, Henrik Fisker began working at BMW Technik, the company's advanced design studio in Munich.

Henrik Fisker worked on the design of BMW's first SUV, a mid-size luxury crossover introduced in 1999, the X5.

From 1999 to 2001, Henrik Fisker was the president and chief executive officer of Designworks, a BMW industrial design studio headquartered in Newbury Park, California.

Henrik Fisker left BMW for the Ford Motor Company in 2001, where he served as design director at Aston Martin.

Henrik Fisker was in charge of the production design of the Aston Martin DB9, bringing in elements from the history of Aston Martin cars.

Henrik Fisker designed the Aston Martin V8 Vantage.

From September 2001 to August 2003, Henrik Fisker was creative director of Ingeni, Ford's London-based design and creativity center.

In 2005, Henrik Fisker left Aston Martin and the Ford Motor Company.

In 2007, Tesla Motors hired Henrik Fisker to perform initial design work on the Tesla Model S electric sedan, which was introduced in 2012.

In 2005, Henrik Fisker partnered with Bernhard Koehler to start a custom car firm, Henrik Fisker Coachbuild, based in Orange County, California.

The first car to be designed by Henrik Fisker Automotive was the Henrik Fisker Karma, a hybrid sports sedan.

In 2009, Henrik Fisker displayed the company's second model, the Karma Sunset, a two-door retractable-hardtop convertible based on the regular Karma.

The Henrik Fisker Surf, displayed in 2011, was designed as a four-door plug-in hybrid hatchback.

In September 2009, Henrik Fisker Automotive was awarded a $528 million loan guarantee by the United States Department of Energy.

The loan facility was frozen at $192 million in February 2012, after the DOE claimed that Henrik Fisker missed its milestones.

Henrik Fisker resigned as chairman from Henrik Fisker Automotive in March 2013, after the company failed to meet a series of production deadlines.

The Henrik Fisker Karma was renamed the Karma Revero in 2016.

Henrik Fisker is not affiliated with Karma Automotive or its parent company Wanxiang.

In November 2014, Henrik Fisker designed the Galpin-Henrik Fisker Mustang Rocket, a coachbuilt custom-bodied Mustang.

In January 2016, Henrik Fisker formed VLF Automotive with manufacturer and former Boeing executive Gilbert Villarreal, and auto engineer and former General Motors executive Bob Lutz, to manufacture small-run handcrafted luxury cars.

On 8 July 2020, Henrik Fisker announced the completion of a US$50 million Series C financing round funded by Moore Strategic Ventures, the private investment arm of Louis Bacon.

On 13 July 2020, Henrik Fisker announced that Henrik Fisker Inc would offer an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange through a merger with special-purpose acquisition company Spartan Energy Acquisition Corp.

Henrik Fisker is publicly listed and traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker.

On 28 June 2021, Henrik Fisker stock was added to the Russell 3000 Index.

On 17 June 2024, Henrik Fisker Inc filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware, listing liabilities at between $100 million to $500 million and assets between $500 million and $1 billion.

Henrik Fisker stated that possible deal talks with a big automaker collapsed, which led it to its bankruptcy.

The lawsuit sought to prevent Henrik Fisker from using Tesla design documents, along with a return of the money from the Tesla contract, plus punitive damages.

An arbitrator ruled in their favour in November 2008, finding "overwhelming" evidence showing that Henrik Fisker did not do anything wrong.

Henrik Fisker Automotive had failed earlier that week to meet the deadline for repayment on the loan, which was originally approved as a $529 million loan guarantee.

On 4 January 2016, Henrik Fisker filed a suit against Aston Martin and three of its executives for US$100 million in damages for civil extortion, claiming that his former employer was trying to prevent him from unveiling his new luxury sports car hybrid, the VLF Force 1 V10, at the 2016 North American International Auto Show.

The complaint claimed that after Henrik Fisker released a single pen-on-paper sketch of the Force 1 in December 2015, he received a letter from Aston Martin claiming the design was too similar to their DB10 and demanding that he either change the design or not display the car at the auto show.

That case was settled after Henrik Fisker agreed not to move forward with the vehicle.