Fisker CEO Says Most EVs Still Cost Same As 2 Years Ago Amid Tesla Price War: 'Same People Announced Incredible Increases'

California headquartered automotive company Fisker Inc‘s (NYSE:FSR) CEO Henrik Fisker addressed the issue of price cuts on the company’s first-quarter earnings call on Tuesday.

What Happened: Fisker is not really worried about pricing as it is still cheaper than competition, the CEO said. He was responding to a question on pricing from Jeoffrey Lambujon, an Executive Director In Equity Research at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co.

“With Fisker, we have not raised our prices for 2 years when we announced them, and we’re still cheaper or lower cost than our competitors,” the CEO said.

Talking about the ongoing pricing competition within the EV segment, Fisker said, “I think everybody who reported on the price decreases on some of the vehicles — specifically one brand out there that we all know — forgot that the same people also announced the incredible increases that happened 6 months ago, a year ago, 1.5 years ago.”

Despite the “price cuts” the vehicles cost the same as they did two years ago, Fisker added.

Why It Matters: Fisker does not qualify for EV tax credits in the U.S. as its vehicles are manufactured outside the U.S. at Magna International Inc‘s (NYSE:MGA) plant in Austria.

The company is now working towards a U.S.-based battery manufacturing solution to capitalize on the new clean vehicle credit program and take full advantage of the incentives provided under the Inflation Reduction Act, Fisker added.

The EV startup reported first-quarter FY23 sales of $198 thousand, missing the consensus of $14.35 million. Despite cutting its 2023 production target from 42,400 units to 32,000 – 36,000 units, the company still forecasts an 8-12% annual gross margin and potentially positive EBITDA for 2023.

EV giant Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) commenced a price war in the EV segment in January with price cuts of up to 19.7%. The decision enabled better first-quarter deliveries for the EV giant and added pressure on rival EV makers to cut costs.

However, earlier this month, the EV giant increased prices on certain models in the U.S. by $250. In China, Tesla hiked prices twice in the first week of May, first by about $290 and the second time by about $2,750.

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