Fisker Inc. is launching a specialty vehicle engineering and development division in the United Kingdom to be led by David King, former chief special operations officer at Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd.

Dubbed Fisker Magic Works, the division intends to focus on “low-volume, rapid-
development vehicle programs and specialized versions” of Fisker’s product portfolio, according to the Manhattan Beach-based electric automaker.

“We are on full speed to deliver four distinct vehicle lines by 2025, driving innovation forward and pushing radical new ideas into the global car market,” Chief Executive Henrik Fisker said in a statement. “The Fisker Magic Works provides us with an opportunity to create sustainable and fantastic vehicles outside the confines of established industry segments.
 
“Bringing on David King further strengthens our engineering and creative expertise, and I’ve already assigned him two exciting projects which will showcase our capability in highly specialized materials and technologies designed especially for the eco-conscious automotive enthusiast,” he said.

King, who formerly served as president of Aston Martin Racing, worked on several rapid development platform-sharing projects with Ford, Jaguar and Daimler — an experience “particularly relevant to Fisker’s asset-light, compressed timeline philosophy,” according to the company.

“This is an incredibly exciting opportunity to create a new engineering center dedicated to bringing amazing ideas to life,” King said in a statement.  
Ocean, Fisker’s first vehicle, is set to roll off the assembly line in November 2022. It will be manufactured by Canadian company Magna International Inc. at its carbon-
neutral facility in Graz, Austria. The electric vehicle will be available through a month-to-month lease or at a list price of $37,499.

Fisker also signed a memorandum of understanding with Hon Hai Technology Group, better known as Foxconn, to jointly develop a Project Personal Electric Automotive Revolution vehicle, also known as Project Pear, to be built by Foxconn and sold under the Fisker brand in North America, China and Europe.
 
The Taiwan-based company, which also makes iPhones for Apple Inc., announced on Oct. 1 it will acquire Lordstown Motors Corp.’s 6.2-million-square-foot manufacturing facility in Ohio for $230 million. It will use the facility to make Lordstown’s Endurance, a full-size electric pickup truck. The former General Motors Co. production plant, acquired by Lordstown in 2019, will also serve as a “speed-to-market asset” to develop Fisker’s vehicles, according to Foxconn.