Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Green Daily, NEV (Neighborhood Electric Vehicle), Europe/EU, Th!nk (Think)
First Th!nk rolls off the line in Norway
Not sure if this qualifies as one of those "small step, giant leap" type of stories, but I do feel that yesterday marked an important milestone in the revived electric car market. That was the day when Norwegian electric car maker Th!nk's first EV minicar rolled off the production line in Norway. According to Automotive News Europe, these cars will soon undergo crash testing and Think Global CEO Jan-Olaf Willums said in a statement that, "This project is on time. We are building full production cars with all the right components from the right suppliers." Those suppliers include Autoliv, Continental and Robert Bosch.
Th!nk minicar sales will start in Norway sometime in the first half of 2008, with other European countries to follow. ANE says Th!nk wants to build between seven and ten thousand cars a year by 2009. For more on Th!nk, click on this link for posts in our new Th!nk category.
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[Source: Douglas A. Bolduc / Automotive News Europe]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Phil L. 11:12AM (11/29/2007)
I really liked what I saw of the Th!nk City back when Ford owned them, and was still talking about offering them in the US on a wide scale. It would be perfect for my commuting needs.
I hope it does well in Norway and elsewhere.
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jcwinnie 12:15PM (11/29/2007)
Woo-hoo, Jan-Olaf, break out the Champagne. You now have your own ABG category!
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phil easler 1:26PM (11/29/2007)
I would love to buying one, hopefully. Does anybody have a guesstimation if/when the USA can order this vehicle, maybe the middle of 2010?
Phil
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Arnie 2:03PM (11/29/2007)
Th!nk category? Very nice!
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why not the LS2LS7? 2:14AM (11/30/2007)
Phil:
Th!nk bombed out of the US market a few years back. They sold the Th!nk City and the Th!nk Neighbor.
I doubt we'll see Th!nk make a serious swipe at the US market again too soon.
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Phil L. 6:05AM (11/30/2007)
Actually, Ford didn't quite get around to *selling* the Th!nk City in the US (though they did sell a number of golf-cart-style NEV Th!nk Neighbor models in the US; they show up regularly on eBay).
Ford put quite a bit of effort into marketing and developing the Th!nk City in the US - but never really got around to selling here. At the time, they claimed they'd be able to sell it - notably, at a profit - for about $20K. Things fell apart with the demise of the CA ZEV mandate.
A number of Th!nk City vehicles were put into service in the US for various demonstration programs. Sadly, virtually all of them were re-exported to Norway (at least they weren't crushed). I've heard that perhaps a handful remain in the US, but I've not seen one show up for private sale.
We can always hope for the future, but my guess is it will be well past 2010 before Th!nk makes it back to the US.
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