In the world of electric vehicles, competition is fierce, and sales numbers are closely watched.
But sometimes, things don’t go as expected. A surprising twist has occurred in the U.S. market, with bankrupt Fisker Inc. selling more electric cars than Volkswagen, writes Boosted.
Fisker Inc. declared bankruptcy earlier this year. Despite this, the company sold more electric cars than Volkswagen in October 2024.
Fisker managed to register 110 electric cars in the U.S. that month. In contrast, Volkswagen only sold 92.
Even Fiat, which isn’t a big name in electric cars, sold more units than Volkswagen, with 135 electric cars.
Fisker’s numbers were partly boosted by a sale of stock cars. After declaring bankruptcy, a U.S. court approved Fisker’s plan to sell around 3,000 Ocean electric cars that had been sitting in storage.
These cars were bought by American Lease, a leasing company in New York. Some cars were also sold with heavy discounts through remaining Fisker dealerships.
Volkswagen’s low sales were blamed on "operational" issues. The company only has two electric car models on the U.S. market, the ID.4 and ID.Buzz.
With such a limited selection, Volkswagen faced challenges. Things got worse when nearly 100,000 ID.4s were recalled due to defective doors, stopping sales.
Additionally, production at Volkswagen’s plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, halted in late September, further limiting their output.
October was a month Volkswagen would prefer to forget. The fact that a bankrupt brand like Fisker sold more electric cars than them shows the difficulties Volkswagen is facing in the U.S. market.
Back home in Germany, the company is dealing with even bigger problems.
This surprising turn of events emphasizes the challenges that major automakers are facing as the electric car market grows.
Even companies on the brink of collapse can sometimes find a way to stay in the game.
