Click above for more shots of the Th!nk Ox and City

Th!nk Global recently hired a new President and COO named Richard Canny who had previously been Ford's Worldwide Director of Strategic Planning (details in the Th!nk release after the break). It didn't take too long for Canny to announce that EnerDel would be ramping up its supply of lithium ion batteries for the Norwegian electric automaker. Th!nk has ordered $70 million worth of battery packs from EnerDel, which equates to about 5,000 units. Each pack contains about 27 kWh of power.

Th!nk's current plans call for an electric car to be made in the U.S. for less than $25K. Yeah, we are suitably excited by that prospect. EnerDel is just one of three companies vying for the right to supply the batteries for the new Th!nk cars, though its chances look fairly decent, not least because the company has gotten tax breaks from the City of Indianapolis to expand there and hire 850 new workers.


[Sources: Th!nk, EnerDel, The Indy Star]

Click above for more high-res shots of this custom Th!nk NEV

Ever since at least the 1950's, car culture has included modifying vehicles for added performance and style. With the dawn of the fully electric car, there are some contingents that are all ready considering how best to eke more from the first generation of electric vehicles, like the original Th!nk NEV. Considering that the speed of a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle is strictly controlled, there's not a whole lot that can be done (legally) to increase their performance, but style is another matter entirely. A California company by the name of Electric Car Warehouse has taken a Th!nk NEV from a few years back and added new wheels and tires along with some other stylish duds. Take a look at the gallery below for the end result.

For reference, a NEV is a vehicle that is 4-wheeled, has a top attainable speed in 1 mile of more than 20 mph and not more than 25 mph on a paved level surface, and has a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of less than 2,500 pounds. Thanks for the tip, Jerry!


[Source: Electric Cart Warehouse]

We spoke with Ener1 Chairman Charles Gassenheimer back in December at the EVS23 expo and at the time he was quite bullish on his company's prospects for 2008. So far this year, there has been quite a bit of good news for the company. Ener1's li-ion battery subsidiary, EnerDel, put a lithium-ion pack in a Th!nk City EV and is a staunch proponent of making future hybrids much more affordable. GM-Volt's Lyle Dennis recently had a chance to get an update on EnerDel's current battery status from Gassenheimer and you can read all about it here. The condensed version is:

• The EnerDel Prius was tested at Argonne national lab and got 77.4 mpg.
• Some EnerDel battery packs are being tested in Canada.
• The available operating range of EnerDel's packs is 95.5 percent, much more than the range that other companies' batteries can offer.
• Ener1 is in talks with more companies to use their batteries.
• Gassenheimer doesn't see a lithium shortage any time soon. Perhaps we'll get it from seawater some day.
• Li-ion Th!nk City still on track to be "on the road by the end of this year."

Read the rest.
[Source: GM-Volt]

Back in April, Th!nk made it known that they would be selling its all-electric "City" car in America in 2009 with a sub $25,000 price tag. With an ambitious desire to ramp up future North American sales into the 50,000 unit-per-year range, Th!nk and its financial backers have realized it doesn't make a lot of sense to be shipping so many cars across the expanse of the Atlantic Ocean, especially when those cars have been constructed with labor paid for in euros Norwegian Kroners. Much better to build them in Mexico or the U.S. and not have to absorb all that shipping or worry about the growing gap in currency values. Also, since two of the three battery options to be made available will be supplied by Enerdel and A123 Systems, both American companies, the reasons for keeping production solely in Norway vanish.

To that end, Th!nk's American executives, based in Menlo Park, CA, are out shopping for a place to set up shop.
According to the Wall Street Journal, investment incentives, such as tax breaks from municipalities and states are among the criteria they will be considering. We suggest they choose a site with lots of room for expansion as they will need the extra real estate to begin manufacturing their Th!nk Ox model in late 2010.

Oh, and that "thwack" noise you're hearing from the general direction of Detroit may well be the sound of Ford kicking itself for selling off a brand that now looks so much like the future. Want a glimpse of that future? Check out the short, hyper advert put together by our Norwegian friends after the break.

UPDATE: Norway doesn't use the euro, as it isn't part of the EU. Our apologies.

click the Th!nk Ox for a high res gallery

Th!nk's Ox is a five-seat monocab design that has a space frame structure that can be used for a variety of different body styles. Besides the four-door body, Th!nk is also showing a two-door coupe body. The space frame provides the crash structure and mounting locations for battery packs in the floor. The 60kW electric motor should be able to accelerate the 3,300lb Ox to 62mph in about 8.5 seconds. Th!nk is claiming that with lithium batteries the Ox will have a range of about 120 miles. With specifications like that, the Ox is a car that could replace the gasoline vehicles that the majority of the population drives everyday ... in other words, it's a game-changer.


What's Number 7?

As ABG reported earlier today, Th!nk has announced it will be coming to the U.S. market. More information has come out on Reuters via Th!nk's venture capital partners Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Rockport Capital. Ray Lane, a managing partner at Kleiner and chairman of Th!nk North America, said today "In a couple of years, we hope to be selling 30-40-50,000 cars per year." The report states that Th!nk intends to launch the vehicle in 2009 at a sub-$25,000 price point.

Th!nk's VC partners' high profile participation in the electric car maker's U.S. launch is evidence of the greater attention being paid to battery electric technologies after an initial preference for biofuel development.

[Source: Reuters]

click to enlarge

Shortly after announcements that Th!nk would be selling its wares in the U.K. and possibly Australia comes news that the Norwegian maker of small electric cars is launching operations in America. Th!nk's City electric car was designed with the American market in mind, so this news should not be too surprising. There are no hard dates yet announced regarding when the vehicle will actually be available, but having a presence in the states is surely a good sign.


[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]