Fisker PEAR: 300-mile range, sub-£30,000 starting price for Californian EV

• Two battery packs, with up to 300 miles of range
• Vanishing ‘Houdini’ tailgate
• On sale in the UK in 2025

Californian electric vehicle maker Fisker has revealed more details on its upcoming compact SUV, the Fisker PEAR, expected to go on sale in the UK in 2025, starting at under £30,000. It will sit beneath the Fisker Ocean in its lineup.

Sadly, it doesn’t count as one of your five-a-day, but the PEAR – for ‘Personal Electric Automotive Revolution’ – should at least make your grocery shopping easier with clever touches throughout, and two battery options to keep it competitive with other electric family cars such as the MG4, Renault Megane E-Tech, Kia Niro EV, and Volkswagen ID.3.

Fisker Ocean review – mid-size electric SUV with quirky features

The headline figure is that sub-thirty grand price tag, which means the PEAR will go head-to-head with other affordable family EVs such as the MG4 when it arrives in 2025. Fisker had previously hinted at a £25,000 tag, but that’s looking less likely now – its US price will come in at around $29,000 before tax breaks and other government incentives.

Talking to Carbuyer at the PEAR’s launch event in LA, company CEO and founder Henrik Fisker said the PEAR will come with two battery options – one aimed primarily at those using the PEAR as a second car, for whom around 200 miles should be sufficient, and the other capable of a realistic 300 miles on a charge (which will likely be rated at around 340 miles WLTP).

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The PEAR takes the form of a relatively compact, SUV-styled city car – at around 4.5 metres, it’s a touch longer than a Kia Niro – but looks like nothing else in its class, a deliberate move by Fisker to help it stand out. While the chunky good looks should appeal to consumers, it’s the details where the PEAR really differentiates itself, with a relatively upright and wraparound windscreen, a fairly low bonnet line, and at the rear, a tail light design that encircles the rear screen.

That screen is part of what Fisker calls a ‘Houdini Trunk’. There’s no conventional tailgate opening upwards or sideways; instead, the rear glass retracts downwards into the tailgate, before the tailgate itself then retracts downwards into the rear bumper – something that should prove handy whenever you park in a tight spot. If that isn’t enough, there’s also a ‘Froot’, or front boot, behind the bluff nose.

The interior has a minimalist look increasingly common to the electric car sector, though it’s not quite as stripped back as say, a Tesla. There’s a touch of MG4 to the two-spoke steering wheel and the shelf below the central touchscreen, though in the PEAR, this is the only screen you get, relaying both driver information and infotainment features, Tesla-style, while 5G connectivity and a powerful ‘Fiskerblade’ computer will power both the car and its infotainment. The show car features a two-tone interior, matched to the exterior paintwork.

The other key detail though is that, unlike all its rivals, the PEAR will give you the option of a six-seat cabin, similar to the old Fiat Multipla and Honda FR-V – though in the PEAR, it takes the form of a wider front passenger seat, rather than individual seats. The seats can also fold flat, something Henrik Fisker told us means “you can even sleep in the car.”

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Fisker has chosen to partner with Foxconn for the PEAR’s production, a Taiwanese electronics firm better known for working with the likes of technology firms Apple, Dell, and Sony, rather than automotive manufacturers. But it’s part of Fisker’s plan to cleverly reduce costs while incorporating sustainable materials and ideas. Built on an all-new ‘Simple, Light, Volume’ platform, Fisker claims the PEAR uses 35 per cent fewer parts than a similarly-sized rival vehicle, making it easier and cheaper to assemble – and contributing to that temptingly low price.

Production is scheduled to begin in 2024, while the first UK cars should reach our shores in early 2025. The PEAR will no doubt have even more rivals at similarly competitive prices by then, but the striking styling and focus on sustainability should still be a draw.

Interested in what Fisker has to offer? Read our in-depth review of the Fisker Ocean before checking out our guide on the best electric SUVs