Austrian Magna Steyr lost billions on Fisker Inc.'s bankruptcy. Now management is trying to recoup the loss on Chinese electric cars.
Austrian Magna Steyr has built everything from the Mercedes G-Class to the BMW Z4 to the Toyota Supra. And now they're going to build Chinese electric cars.
This is probably done to recoup some of the billions that the factory management felt cheated out of when Fisker Inc. went bankrupt.
The money comes from China, where brands like Xpeng and GAC – which is itself an entire group – will try to circumvent the EU's punitive tariffs.
This is written by the Kleine Zeitung media.
According to the Austrian media, there is no need to upgrade or convert the factory for either the Xpeng or the GAC cars. All parts simply come from China.
The only thing Magna Steyr has to take care of is assembling the cars. That way, the Chinese can avoid the punitive tariffs that were imposed on them last year. Specifically, October 31, 2024.
Magna has not officially confirmed the information. But if the story holds true, Xpeng could get rid of the 21.3 percent that the brand currently pays in punitive duties.
Whether this means cheaper cars is currently just guesswork. But when the tariffs came into effect, the brand announced that it would not raise prices, at least in Denmark.
Back in Austria, there are massive economic gaps that need to be filled. According to Magna Steyr, Fisker's exit cost 2.7 billion kroner.
When production of the Fisker Ocean came to a halt exactly one year ago, it was initially with a deadline of six weeks. However, the assembly lines never started up again.
And since then, Fisker's subsidiaries throughout the Nordic region and Europe have gone bankrupt. A plan approved by the US court system in October last year means that the parent company Fisker Inc. can be closed once all assets have been sold off.
The plan, which could take years to realize, also means that the leasing company that purchased the car brand's North American inventory of Ocean models has gained access to Fisker's technical data.
