Fisker Stock Alert: NHTSA Opens Preliminary Investigation into Fisker Brake Issue

Fisker (OTCMKTS:FSRN) is back in the hot seat after the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) released a Preliminary Assessment (PE) of the 2023 Ocean SUV for its automatic emergency braking (AEB). Based on eight complaints, the ODI found that the AEB system accidentally activates when there is nothing in front of the vehicle, causing a sudden deceleration.

“Braking events range from brief, partial braking, which results in a rapid loss of speed, to full braking, which brings the vehicle to a complete stop in the lane,” the ODI wrote. “Three of the complaints involved an injury.”

The Fisker Ocean is the company’s only vehicle and is currently subject to four open NHTSA investigations, all opened this year.

Fisker stock is down 97% this year and down about 2% today.

Fisker Stock: NHTSA opens preliminary investigation into Fisker brake problem

This is the second PE of the Ocean brakes. The first, opened on January 11, alleged a “partial loss of braking on low-traction surfaces without warning the driver” based on nine complaints. One of the complaints involved an accident and injury.

The Ocean’s other two PEs involve 14 complaints about the inability to open its doors and 4 complaints, including one injury, involving unintentional vehicle movement resulting from the Ocean not being in the correct gear.

Fisker has also previously received several complaints from users about its software and Bluetooth system. The company noted that the release of Ocean OS 2.0 fixed many of these issues.

The fourth investigation takes place at a time when Fisker is struggling to stay afloat. On March 18, the electric vehicle maker announced it would pause production of the Ocean for six weeks to adjust its inventory levels to meet demand. About a week later, Fisker cut prices for the Ocean by up to 39%. This came after the company produced 10,193 Oceans in 2023 but only delivered 4,929 of them.

Last week, Ocean contract manufacturer Magna Steyr (NYSE:MGA) announced that production of the vehicle is “empty” despite the six-week production pause that ended on April 29. Given all the bad news, Fisker’s future is as unclear as ever.

At the time of publication, Eddie Pan did not hold, directly or indirectly, any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, subject to those of InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.