Filed under: Ford, Th!nk (Think)
Th!nk to announce deal with large auto maker next week
Greentech Media reports that Think Global will announce a deal with a large automaker next week concerning the development of a car. At the Cleantech Forum in San Francisco Tuesday, Think chairman Jan-Olaf Willums said the new car will be larger than the car we know from Think. Greentech Media theorizes the automaker could be Ford, which purchased and then sold Think a while back. My guess is GM because there is talk GM may open up E-Flex to other companies. Stay tuned for further developments.
[Source: Greentech Media]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
ug 1:36PM (2/27/2008)
First they want the battery pack from Tesla, then Enerdel, now this. Can't they just sell some cars instead of spending all their time making business deals???
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eddy 1:43PM (2/27/2008)
Ford develops a platform that is similar to E-flex. There are a lot of speculations about the Volvo C30 Recharge platform. If that system really is ready for 2011 it could be used in the next Focus and other Focus based cars. A cooperation with Think would make a lot of sense for this. Volvo/Ford has a cooperation with PML Flightlink so motors won't be their problem. So the only problems Ford/Volvo has to solve if they want to build an range-extended electric car is control electronics and batteries. And Think has quite sophisticated versions of that things and needs just production facilities and a platform for bigger cars. So a cooperation of Think and Ford could be a win-win situation.
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Throwback 1:47PM (2/27/2008)
Goes to show how expensive it is to develop a modern car. Also, building and selling is one thing, after sales support is where companies live or die. A major automaker with a large dealer body helps greatly here. Tesla, if successful will need some kind of after sales support unless they plan to sell in Northern California only.
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Dave 2:13PM (2/27/2008)
This is exciting news. I HOPE it's GM.
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Charles S 2:21PM (2/27/2008)
Dealership network is a trivial problem. Large metropolitan areas is where all the major sales occur. All foreign auto manufacturers started off selling only in such large markets, and so any company will only need to start with just a few dealerships just to hit the initial goals.
MINI USA started out with about 50 dealerships in 2002. Other premium vehicles like Lotus and Maserati are doing fine with just a few key dealerships. Tesla won't have to worry about having a showroom any time soon, because most of the cars are already sold for 2008.
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phil easler 2:38PM (2/27/2008)
I thought we were just going to be able to order the car via internet, once the demand in Norway and UK was meet, and have them shipped here to us in the USA, with US drive, safety requirements...,
but that was way to easy I guess. We need 90,000 Kwatts of power in order to go 200mph to get that gallon of milk.
Phil
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Throwback 3:08PM (2/27/2008)
Charles I think you are underestimating the after sales experience. I spent many years in the automotive after market and the post sales experience has a huge impact on the consumer experience. Is Think going to open their own dealerships? BMW put Mini dealerships in existing stores for a reason, to lower the overhead cost of a new brand. There was no need to buy/build a new building, hire new techs, buy tools, lifts, staff etc. By Think hooking up with a large company they have a built in dealer, customer service and parts distribution network. All they have to do is deliver good cars, admittedly not a simple thing..
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Phil L. 4:51PM (2/27/2008)
I always liked the Th!nk City and would welcome anything that gives Th!nk models a real chance to succeed in the market.
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Charles S 5:23PM (2/27/2008)
Throwback:
GM, Ford, Chrysler, etc, do not own their own dealerships. Your posts seems to assume that Tesla or Th!nk HAVE TO build their own dealerships in order to sell vehicles.
I did follow the efforts that MINI had to take to get dealerships in US. BMW required the selected BMW dealerships to build NEW BUILDINGS, NEW showrooms, and have a separate lot, only for MINI vehicles. Go visit your local MINI dealership and see.
In case of Th!nk, any place that sells electric NEV can be a good candidate as an affiliate. Afterall, as some people like to compare, that EVs are pretty much an upgraded golf-cart. I thought I even read somewhere that national chain like CarMax was interested in selling alt-fuel cars.
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Charles S 5:32PM (2/27/2008)
To clarify about my comments above; there's a difference between "access" and "dealership network".
If one is talking about a Norway company selling a car to Joe Blow in New York, then Standford and Sons Garage could be a "dealership" and provide all the "certified" supported needed.
Th!nk partnering with a major automotive company (prob Ford) just means it will be able to have ACCESS to the network of Ford dealerships, which again, is NOT own by Ford.
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Throwback 7:10PM (2/27/2008)
I owned a Mini Cooper. The mini "showroom" was separated by a temporary wall from the BMW showroom. The service and parts department where one in the same.
I serviced my car at 2 dealerships with similar set-ups. A large automaker can approach it's dealerships in specific markets and offer incentives to take on a franchise. The other advantage for going with a major company is access to reduced pricing on parts. I would hate to see a good car fail because of the service experience.
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Jon Dutch 7:47PM (2/27/2008)
I really like the Think (how do you make an upside down ! ?), so I sincerely hope that neither Ford or GM have anything to do with it's future. Let's just say I am not a fan of either of here track records with regards to small cars. European Ford is good, and so is/was Opel (to a lessor extent), but I actually want to drive a Think... so even if one of those two did manage to snatch it up that means it will never leave Europe. I would have loved an Opel Corsa or Ford Fiesta (Euro style) over here, but neither would ever cross the pond. So I hope that some other company has dibs on Think. In the mean time I am going to wait for my Obvio 828e from ZAP.
http://www.zapworld.com
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Charles S 11:32PM (2/27/2008)
I still own my 2002 MINI. I followed dealership saga via all the various fans since 2000. Some dealerships may have gotten away with rearranging the showrooms, but the ones I've been to have separate buildings and showrooms, and my local one has its own repair shop. BMW wanted a distinct brand and the dealers who wanted it had to cough up the dough and comply.
During the days of EV-1, Ford bought out Th!nk as its quick-fix to comply with California's ZEV mandate. There was even a Th!nk dealership at one of my local Ford dealership. Once the auto-manufacturers won the lawsuit, Ford quickly and quietly sold Th!nk off and shipped all the remaining US Th!nk off to Norway. For the years that Ford owned Th!nk, there were lots and lots of PR about Th!nk products, but only about 1000 units were made.
I think it's stupid for Th!nk to work with Ford again, but I still believe it's Ford that will be the mysterious major partner, as other manufacturers either have their own pet projects or rather heavily invested in hybrids.
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JP Hedin aka DrSmart 4:07PM (2/28/2008)
There is still one Ford th!nk CITY running around San Francisco. The range was terrible if you had to climb any of our steep hills. The Th!nk City had to have it's batteries "equalized" at the dealer every 2K miles. The amount of heat generated and the complexity of EV's is a daunting engineering challenge. I would like to see a Toyota (Scion) "IQ" hybrid diesel that could get 100 MPG
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