The eight brand new electric cars pictured yesterday abandoned in Nottingham have been collected on instruction from liquidators - and will soon be sold at auction, This is Money can exclusively reveal.
The convoy of Fisker Ocean EVs, which were originally worth over £275,000 collectively, were dumped at the roadside by a local dealer seven months ago after the US Tesla rival filed for bankruptcy last summer.
All eight were recovered last night by John Pye Auctions, which has been instructed by the official receiver to manage their sales to raise funds.
The cars will be available to purchase over the coming months, a spokesperson for the auction house told us.
In fact, it is selling 44 abandoned Fisker Oceans collected from across the UK after the demise of the company - and some have already gone under the hammer, selling for a fraction of their original value.
The fleet of dumped EVs emerged after American start-up Fisker filed for bankruptcy in June 2024 following months of rescue talks that failed to save it from the brink.
Official records show that 419 Ocean EVs were registered in the UK between December 2023 and June 2024, inclusive of the ones abandoned, with owners set to face enormous headaches when trying to access spare parts for repairs.
Do you own a Fisker Ocean or have you bought one of the abandoned EVs at auction? Email: rob.hull@thisismoney.co.uk
Eight brand new electric cars, which collectively would have cost over £275k when delivered, were dumped at the roadside. They had been left there for seven months until last night...
All eight were collected on Wednesday night by John Pye Auctions on the instruction of liquidators. They will be transported to its secure Birmingham site and prepared for sale
The huddle of dumped electric vehicles hit headlines this week when it materialised they had been parked against a row of hedges on a quiet street since October.
They were abandoned on Colwick Road and Racecourse Road, east of Nottingham's city centre, by local dealer Premium Central Performance and Prestige Cars.
Gathering dust and left exposed, some still had import stickers on the windscreen, plastic protective seat covers in place, and factory documents dumped inside.
The dealer had been holding the cars for Fisker having signed a deal to be a UK distributor before it went into liquidation, according to reports by Nottinghamshire Live.
All eight are UK registered, with each one fitted with a registration plate.
They were likely pre-registered by the Nottinghamshire dealership, which was said to have been storing the EVs on behalf of the dissolved car company, in case buyers could be found at short notice.
The cars pictured in Nottingham are 8 of the 419 Fisker Oceans delivered to the UK before the company went into liquidation last year
The city council issued seven-day removal notices on the vehicles on 3 March but they had remained in situ until Wednesday night (16 April) when recovery was arranged
The dealership reportedly contacted the liquidators in October to inform them that they were moving the cars to a public road ready for collection, as they were no longer able to legally stock or sell them.
By parking them at the roadside, the dealership claimed to have 'relinquished itself from responsibility' for the vehicles.
The dealership explained: 'These cars are not in any way linked to our business, so we refrain from any further comment on them.'
Liquidators had been warned that Nottingham City Council would dispose of the convoy of EVs if they remained at the side of the road for too long, with seven-day removal notices taped to the windows on 3 March.
Local pranksters advertised the 'free cars' on social media, with one posting a picture of the abandoned convoy, joking: 'There's a few abandoned (cars) in Notts if you fancy one.'
Another posted: 'I suspect they'll either get moved real soon or vandalised' now the media has 'told everyone where they are located.'
However, the combined 22 tonnes of unwanted EVs were only collected from the roadside on Wednesday after This is Money's story had made their whereabouts known.
The Birmingham-based online auction house has been made responsible for the same of 44 Fisker Oceans. Here's some of them stored at its secure site
Some of the 44 electric SUVs have already been offered at auction, selling for between £10,000 and £15,000 - a fraction of their original price before Fisker filed for bankruptcy
When the first UK Fisker Oceans were available to order in 2023, prices ranged from £36,900 to £57,900 depending on spec
By April 2024, the fledging EV brand slashed prices to between £30,900 and £43,900 in a desperate bid to shift units
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John Pye Auctions exclusively told us the cars were recovered last night and will arrive at its secure site in Birmingham today and tomorrow, before being prepared for sale.
'We've sold a few already from the 44 but we will be drip feeding them through the auctions in the coming months,' a spokesperson said.
Those already sold went for prices between £10,000 to £15,000.
While these had been used - with over 3,000 miles in some cases - the auction prices achieved are a fraction of what they cost brand new.
When first UK models arrived in December 2023, prices ranged from £36,900 to £57,900 depending on spec.
By April 2024, the fledging EV brand slashed prices to between £30,900 and £43,900 in a desperate bid to shift units.
In an official statement sent to This is Money, the auction company instructed to sell them told us: 'These premium, eco-friendly vehicles represent a rare opportunity for both private buyers and members of the motor trade to acquire via online auction.
'John Pye Auctions, one of the UK's largest auction houses, has a strong track record in handling high-profile and high-value asset disposals. With over 50 years of experience and a national network of auction hubs, the company offers over 400,000 items including vehicles, retail goods, luxury items and properties.
'All 44 Fisker vehicles have been carefully collected and transported to John Pye's secure Birmingham site, where they are being professionally stored and prepared for public auction.
'The vehicles will be released for bidding in phases over the coming weeks, allowing interested buyers multiple chances to participate in this unique disposal event.'
The next three Fiskers - a mix of entry Ocean Sport, mid-spec Ultra and range-topping Extreme - will be available for sale online on Monday 21 April.
John Pye Auctions says: 'These premium, eco-friendly vehicles represent a rare opportunity for both private buyers and members of the motor trade to acquire via online auction'
John Pye Auctions told us the cars were recovered last night and will arrive at its secure site in Birmingham today and tomorrow before being prepared for sale
There is no date for when the eight Fisker Oceans recovered from the roadside in Nottingham will be available at auction, with John Pye Auctions telling us they'll be 'drip fed' into sales
The hundreds of UK owners of Fisker Oceans who took delivery from December 2023 face the real prospect of being left with unfixable vehicles.
A number of customers said last year that their electric SUVs have been plagued with issues even before the company filed for bankruptcy. This included brake failure, rapid battery draining and the random opening of windows when parked.
But after they reported the issues to Fisker, they found the firm's UK representatives to be less and less responsive as the company's financial situation worsened.
Owner Kevin Mulligan told The Telegraph in November that he 'feared for his life' after his Fisker Ocean Extreme, which was advertised as being able to travel up to 440 miles on a single charge, coasted into the middle of a junction after his brakes failed to engage.
And when he attempted to get his car's faults fixed - such as only travelling half the distance he was told it could on one charge - he claims he faced a number of challenges.
He explained: 'I was talking to one sales guy and then he'd be made redundant. Then I'd be passed to another guy, who put me in touch with the engineer – and then he'd be made redundant. So there's no on-the-road services or support.'
Leasing companies quickly pulled the brand from their listings when the company went into liquidation, and the last remaining UK sales centre in Milton Keynes closed down shortly after the bankruptcy announcement.
Mr Mulligan said he was able to return his vehicle and recoup some of his £70,000 from Santander, through which he leased it.
However, those who bought vehicles outright may not be so lucky.
Fisker ambitiously tried to challenge Elon Musk and Tesla's EV empire with its stylish zero-emission family model, which has a range 275 to 390 miles, depending on specification. But the company collapsed within months of entering the UK market
Henrik Fisker, car designer and CEO of Fisker (pictured), said in June 2024: 'Like other companies in the electric vehicle industry, we have faced various market and macroeconomic headwinds that have impacted our ability to operate efficiently'
The Fisker Ocean featured a 'fully vegan' interior, with cloth materials made from reclaimed fishing nets, T-shirts and rubber
The electric SUV had a number of party pieces up its sleeve. Among these is a rotating 17.1-inch infotainment screen that can swivel from landscape to portrait view at the push of a button when at a standstill
Mid-spec and above examples of the Fisker Ocean had a 'doggie power window' at the back, allowing owners to wind the rear glass down so pups in the boot can get some fresh air
A company called American Lease agreed to buy around 3,300 cars from Fisker's remaining inventory last year for $46.3million, having already paid around $42.5million and taken ownership of approximately 1,100 Oceans.
It then paid a further $2.5million to access Fisker's servers for five years in order to provide over the air updates to existing customers encountering issued with their cars.
Once these five years have passed, however, UK owners could potentially be left in possession of EVs that are rendered undriveable if over the air updates are no longer available.
There are also huge concerns about the supply of replacement mechanical parts for the cars due to failing components, damage succumbed in accidents and general wear and tear.
Without a supply, they are ultimately unfixable.
A severe lack of qualified EV mechanics at independent garages also means getting these cars repaired could be an enormous headache.
Fisker's closure comes eight years after it was launched by veteran Danish car designer Henrik Fisker - the man who spearheaded the development of the BMW Z8 sports car in the 1990s.
He had ambitious plans to add more EVs to the range alongside the Ocean, which was released in June 2023.
The model was to rely on parts supplier Magna to assemble its vehicles in order to avoid the huge investment of building factories.
More than 400 Fisker Oceans have been delivered to the UK since December 2023. Owners could find themselves £70,000 out of pocket with fears the cars could become unrepairable
The company has been besieged by issues around its EV SUV, the Ocean, launched in 2023
Henrik Fisker showed the Pope his plans for an all-electric Fisker Ocean Popemobile during an audience with his Holiness in the Vatican in 2021
The Ocean EV was the first - and only - model brought to market by the Californian start-up.
The cars had a number of unique features.
The cabin materials were all vegan friendly, each model had a rotating 17.1-inch infotainment screen that swivels from landscape to portrait view at the push of a button, and it was even available with a 'doggie power window' at the back, allowing owners to wind the rear glass down so pups in the boot could get some fresh air.
Ambitions for the long-range electric SUVs were high, with the sustainability-focused brand even securing an audience with the Pope in 2021 to propose plans to build an EV 'Popemobile' by adapting an Ocean with a glass cube-shaped cupola.
But even divine intervention couldn't help the troubled EV start-up.
Projected to produce 50,000 vehicles a year by 2023, the brand was been plagued with missed production targets, supply delays and mechanical issues.
Only around 10,000 Oceans were produced in total, and just under 5,000 delivered to various markets, including the UK.
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