EV maker Fisker pushes into emission credit market to boost sagging business

(Reuters) -Electric vehicle startup Fisker has signed a deal to sell emission credits to a major automaker, looking to enter a market it is betting on to navigate a stormy economic environment and a price war sparked by Tesla.

The announcement on Tuesday comes barely a month after Fisker lowered its 2023 production target and reported a worse-than-feared adjusted loss in the first quarter.

It did not reveal the company it had sold the credits to.

Many electric-vehicle makers, including market leader Tesla, have been selling credits earned for exceeding emission and fuel economy standards to other automakers that fall short. This has created a lucrative revenue stream for cash-strapped startups.

EV firms are also battling a slowdown in demand as inflation and sky-high interest rates sap consumers’ purchasing power; Tesla’s strategy of cutting prices to increase volumes has also hurt their ambitions.

Fisker, whose shares closed up 1.4% at $5.84, will also start U.S. deliveries of the all-electric Fisker Ocean SUV later this month, it said.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)