Danish car designer Henrik Fisker suing Aston Martin

Car designer says his former employer is trying to prevent him from showing his new vehicle

Danish auto designer Henrik Fisker, the executive chairman and co-founder of Fisker Automotive, has filed a $100 million civil extortion lawsuit against his former employer, Aston Martin.

Fisker said that Aston Martin is trying to prevent him from showing his new car at the Detroit auto show next week.

The legal action is the latest move in an ongoing feud between Fisker and his former employer, according to the American financial newspaper the Wall Street Journal.

Ongoing battle
Aston Martin has stated publicly that the lawsuit is without merit.

Fisker’s complaint claims that after a sketch of his latest design, the Force 1, was released, Aston Martin had their lawyers send him a letter demanding that he must not display the car at the show or change the design “to avoid conflict with Aston Martin’s rights”.

The letter also said that Aston Martin would “not hesitate to protect its valuable rights” and claimed that Force 1 was very similar to the Aston Martin DB10, a car it made for the recent James Bond movie ‘Spectre’.

No Thunderbolt
Fisker’s lawyer said that the Force 1 has nothing to do with Aston Martin’s designs and that a lawsuit “would subject him to public humiliation, embarrassment in the industry and significant financial losses”.

Aston Martin has already sued Fisker over another car design, the Thunderbolt. That case was settled, and the Thunderbolt is no longer slated for production.

Fisker joined Aston Martin in 2001 and worked there until the end of 2004.

Bad karma
He left Aston Martin to start his own electric-car company, Fisker Automotive Inc, and its hybrid car Karma was hailed as a pioneering green sports cars following its launch in 2008.

However, business nosedived somewhat as competitors, most notably Elon Musk’s Tesla, stole the march.

Fisker Automotive went bankrupt in 2013, and in 2014 the company was acquired by China Wanxiang Group.

TOP STORIES

  • Bestselling author of ‘The Year of Living Danishly’ Helen Russell on why she moved back to the UK after 12 years

    Bestselling author of ‘The Year of Living Danishly’ Helen Russell on why she moved back to the UK after 12 years

    After more than a decade living in Denmark, Russell shares why she made the move, how she’s coping, what she already misses, and the exciting new projects she’s working on. “It’s been a very tough decision. I love Denmark, and it will always hold a special place in my heart,” she says.

  • Denmark launches first AI supercomputer

    Denmark launches first AI supercomputer

    The new Gefion AI supercomputer is one of the world’s fastest and will accelerate research and provide new opportunities in Danish academia and industry.

  • Navigating big love, big moves and big feelings

    Navigating big love, big moves and big feelings

    Experts believe it takes seven years to move into a new culture, according to leading Danish psychologist Jette Simon and therapist Vibeke Hartkorn. For expat couples, the challenges of starting a new life together in Denmark can put pressure on relationships, but emotions-focused therapy can help.

  • More and more Danes are working after retirement age

    More and more Danes are working after retirement age

    Politicians debate a lot these days about when you can retire. The reality shows that an increasing number of Danes like to work, even if they can withdraw from the labor market. Financial incentives help.

  • Environmental activist fears death in prison if extradited to Japan

    Environmental activist fears death in prison if extradited to Japan

    Canadian-born environmental activist Paul Watson has been in prison in Greenland for almost 100 days awaiting an extradition decision for a 14-year-old offence against a Japanese whaling vessel that he calls a “minor misdemeanor”. The 73-year-old had previously passed through Ireland, Switzerland, Monaco, France and the USA without trouble, before Greenlandic police arrested him in July.

  • Denmark too slow to ease recruitment rules for non-EU service workers, say industry associations

    Denmark too slow to ease recruitment rules for non-EU service workers, say industry associations

    When the Danish government in January presented the first of its schemes to make it easier to recruit foreign labour from outside the EU, it was hailed by the healthcare and service sectors as a timely and important policy shift. But while healthcare changes have been forthcoming, the service sector is still struggling, say the directors of the industry association Dansk Industri and one of the country’s largest private employers ISS.

Connect club

Connect Club is your gateway to a vibrant programme of events and an international community in Denmark.

Sign up here

Career

  • Come and join us at Citizens Days!

    Come and join us at Citizens Days!

    On Friday 27 and Saturday 28 of September, The Copenhagen Post will be at International Citizen Days in Øksnehallen on Vesterbro, Copenhagen. Admission is free and thousands of internationals are expected to attend

  • Diversifying the Nordics: How a Nigerian economist became a beacon for inclusivity in Scandinavia

    Diversifying the Nordics: How a Nigerian economist became a beacon for inclusivity in Scandinavia

    Chisom Udeze, the founder of Diversify – a global organization that works at the intersection of inclusion, democracy, freedom, climate sustainability, justice, and belonging – shares how struggling to find a community in Norway motivated her to build a Nordic-wide professional network. We also hear from Dr. Poornima Luthra, Associate Professor at CBS, about how to address bias in the workplace.

  • Lolland Municipality launches support package for accompanying spouses

    Lolland Municipality launches support package for accompanying spouses

    Lolland Municipality, home to Denmark’s largest infrastructure project – the Fehmarnbelt tunnel connection to Germany – has launched a new jobseeker support package for the accompanying partners of international employees in the area. The job-to-partner package offers free tailored sessions on finding a job and starting a personal business.

Want to advertise your job with CPH Post?

Contact us

Jobs