Henrik Fisker, former head of design at such places as Aston Martin, BMW, and Ford, is best known in the ‘green’ car space for the gorgeous Fisker Karma electric grand touring sedan he designed and briefly sold under his own brand in 2012. He’s back in the game at Fisker Inc. with his previously-shown eMotion electric supercar prototype, and now an electric SUV the company says it intends to sell first.

The as-yet unnamed electric SUV is a strategic move since SUVs represent the most important and fastest-growing segment in the automotive market. Powering the Fisker SUV will be front and rear electric motors offering all-wheel drive functionality. An ‘enhanced’ 80 kWh lithium-ion battery pack aims to offer a range approaching 300 miles. The SUV will feature a large heads-up display, a premium interior, and the latest emerging connected technologies…all at a targeted starting price under $40,000.

The eMotion is planned to use Fisker’s flexible solid state batteries under development for even greater range. Fisker claims this next-generation battery technology will offer 2.5 times the energy of today’s lithium-ion batteries.

Fisker has appointed Don Jackson – formerly president of manufacturing at Volkswagen of America and vice-president of manufacturing at Toyota – as the company’s senior advisor of manufacturing. The company says a driveable prototype of the electric SUV will be coming later this year with a production model out the last half of 2021.