BRUSSELS and LOS ANGELES,
Aug. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/
-- United in their vision for a more sustainable future
of mobility, Fisker Inc. (NYSE: FSR) ("Fisker"), passionate
creator of the world's most sustainable electric vehicles and
advanced mobility solutions, and Bridgestone, a global leader in
tires and rubber providing solutions for safe and sustainable
mobility, are today announcing a new partnership. Fisker has
selected Bridgestone as the exclusive tire partner for the
much-anticipated Fisker Ocean all-electric SUV.
The Fisker Ocean will make its global debut at the upcoming 2021
Los Angeles Auto Show, with production starting on November 17, 2022. The Fisker Ocean features
extensive use of recycled materials, including a fully vegan
interior, and will come with an optional photovoltaic solar roof.
The Fisker Ocean will sit on custom-developed Bridgestone Potenza
Sport tires for vehicles sold in Europe and select models sold in North America. The bespoke Potenza Sport tires
deliver an optimal driving experience focused on ride comfort and
handling stability, and are engineered for low rolling resistance,
which conserves the Fisker Ocean's battery energy by ensuring that
less power is required to move the vehicle's tires.
The custom-engineered tire marks one of the first times
Bridgestone Potenza Sport – the company's premium
ultra-high-performance sports tire – has been combined with its
revolutionary, sustainable ENLITEN Technology. On average, ENLITEN
Technology reduces the rolling resistance of a tire by up to 30%
and its weight by up to 20%.1 This equates to up to 2kg
fewer raw material resources required to produce every tire – an
environmental benefit from both a resources and final end-of-life
stage management standpoint. The use of ENLITEN Technology is
key in ensuring that the Ocean's tires have low rolling resistance,
while Potenza Sport's sporty pattern provides a dynamic and stable
driving experience.
Bridgestone will also supply custom-designed Alenza Sport all
season tires for Fisker Ocean models sold in North America. The Alenza Sport tires are
engineered with a next-generation compound that provides enhanced
dry braking, wet handling and improved rolling resistance to help
drivers unlock the Fisker Ocean's full performance
capabilities.
The Fisker Ocean's custom-made Bridgestone tires will benefit
from Bridgestone's ground-breaking Virtual Tire Development
technology, which enables the accurate prediction of a tire's
performance without producing and physically driving it for the
first part of the development process. Making tire development more
sustainable, efficient, accurate and flexible, Virtual Tire
Development cuts raw material consumption and CO2
emissions by approximately 60% and reduces product development time
and speed to market by up to 50%. The planned use of the technology
in this project supports the Fisker Ocean's ambitions to be the
world's most sustainable vehicle and will help to accelerate the
project's development time.
Breaking down barriers to the electric future
In its search for the right tire, Fisker identified Bridgestone
as a strong partner with a like-minded approach to sustainability
that is investing across its entire value chain, from R&D and
product development, to manufacturing and retail, to lessen its
environmental impact. For example, Bridgestone recently announced
that 100% of electricity consumed at its European locations,
including its European R&D Centre in Italy where the Fisker Ocean's tires were
developed and its Poznan plant in Poland where they will be produced, comes from
renewable sources; similarly, the Fisker Ocean will be manufactured
in Graz, Austria at Magna Steyr's
CO2 neutral facility.
In Bridgestone, Fisker has a partner that is transforming its
business to support the adoption of EVs. By pioneering premium
tires, tire technologies and dedicated fleet and mobility solutions
for EVs, and developing an EV-ready retail and service network,
Bridgestone is investing to make electric mobility more efficient
and accessible to all drivers. Fisker has similar ambitions with
the Ocean set to enter the U.S. market at a starting recommended
price of $37,499 (excluding
EV-related subsidies) and below €32,000 in Germany (including taxes and EV-related
subsidies).
Prototype testing of the Fisker Ocean will start during Q4 2021.
The custom-engineered Bridgestone tires will be available in two
tire sizes: 255/50 R20 & 255/45 R22. The 22" tire will be tuned
to create a sportier handling balance, consistent with the elevated
performance requirements of the higher power versions of the Fisker
Ocean.
"At Bridgestone, we see EVs as a huge opportunity to help
achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and make mobility more
environmentally sustainable," said Laurent Dartoux, President and
CEO, Bridgestone EMIA. "But there are still many barriers to
overcome before a fully electric future can be realized, and Fisker
– like Bridgestone – is working to break those barriers down. Not
only making EVs more accessible, Fisker is built from the ground up
with a strong sustainability agenda that we wholeheartedly support.
It's brilliant to unite our shared ambitions and work together to
achieve them."
"We are thrilled to work with Bridgestone, a global leader in
tires and sustainable mobility, who shares our values and designed
premium tires that are the perfect match for the Fisker Ocean,"
said Henrik Fisker, Chairman and CEO
of Fisker. "We have the ambition to make the most sustainable SUV
featuring class-leading ride, handling, and range, and Bridgestone
will play a key role in achieving this goal. We look forward to
continuing to work closely together, collaborating on performance
engineering and the technical development of the tires."
*1
|
Based on
Bridgestone internal data comparing Bridgestone premium summer
tires with and without ENLITEN Technology in the same tire size
(92Y 225/40R18 XL). Fisker will only take the R20 and R22
tire sizes.
|
About Bridgestone in Europe, Russia, Middle
East, India, and
Africa:
Bridgestone in Europe,
Russia, Middle East, India, and Africa (Bridgestone EMIA) is the regional
Strategic Business Unit of Bridgestone Corporation, a global leader
in tires and rubber building on its expertise to provide solutions
for safe and sustainable mobility. Headquartered in Zaventem
(Belgium), Bridgestone EMIA
employs more than 20,000 people and conducts business in 40
countries across the region. Bridgestone offers a diverse product
portfolio of premium tires and advanced
solutions, backed by innovative technologies,
improving the way people around the world move, live, work and
play.
For more information about Bridgestone in EMIA, please visit
www.bridgestone-emia.com and www.bridgestonenewsroom.eu. Follow us
on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.
About Bridgestone Americas, Inc.:
Nashville, Tennessee-based
Bridgestone Americas, Inc. is a subsidiary of Bridgestone
Corporation, a global leader providing sustainable mobility and
advanced solutions. Bridgestone Americas develops, manufactures,
and markets a diverse portfolio of original equipment and
replacement tires, tire-centric solutions, mobility solutions, and
other rubber-associated and diversified products that deliver
social value and customer value. Guided by its global corporate
social responsibility commitment, Our Way to Serve, Bridgestone is
dedicated to shaping a sustainable future of mobility and improving
the way people move, live, work and play.
About Fisker Inc.
California-based Fisker Inc.
is revolutionizing the automotive industry by developing the most
emotionally desirable and eco-friendly electric vehicles on Earth.
Passionately driven by a vision of a clean future for all, the
company is on a mission to become the No. 1 e-mobility service
provider with the world's most sustainable vehicles. To learn more,
visit www.FiskerInc.com – and enjoy
exclusive content across Fisker's social media channels:
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
Download the revolutionary new Fisker mobile app from
the App
Store or Google
Play store.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements, which
are subject to the "safe harbor" provisions of the US Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be
identified by words such as "feel," "believes," expects,"
"estimates," "projects," "intends," "should," "is to be," or the
negative of such terms, or other comparable terminology and
include, among other things, the quotations of our Chief Executive
Officer and statements regarding the planned start of production
and MSRP of the Ocean, the Company's future performance and other
future events that involve risks and uncertainties. Such
forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance
and are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause
actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking
statements contained herein due to many factors, including, but not
limited to: Fisker's limited operating history; Fisker's ability to
enter into additional manufacturing and other contracts with Magna,
or other OEMs or tier-one suppliers in order to execute on its
business plan; the risk that OEM and supply partners do not meet
agreed upon timelines or experience capacity constraints; Fisker
may experience significant delays in the design, manufacture,
regulatory approval, launch and financing of its vehicles; Fisker's
ability to execute its business model, including market acceptance
of its planned products and services; Fisker's inability to retain
key personnel and to hire additional personnel; competition in the
electric vehicle market; Fisker's inability to develop a sales
distribution network; and the ability to protect its intellectual
property rights; and those factors discussed in Fisker's Annual
Report on Form 10-K, as amended, under the heading "Risk Factors,"
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), as
supplemented by Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and other reports
and documents Fisker files from time to time with the SEC. Any
forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they
are made, and Fisker undertakes no obligation to update any
forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after
the date of this press release.
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SOURCE Bridgestone Americas, Inc.