Norwegian firm to make urban electric car in Indiana

January 8, 2010

Indiana governor Mitch Daniels (left) and THINK CEO Richard Cannywith the THINK City

Norwegian electric vehicle manufacturer THINK has announced plans to make its two-seater THINK City electric car at a factory in the US.

The company said on Wednesday (January 5) that it would start production in Elkhart County, Indiana, with plans to launch the Think City on the North American market later this year.

The company plans to invest $43.5 million in the plant, which would begin assembling vehicles in early 2011 with capacity for more than 20,000 cars a year.

THINK said its front wheel-drive City car would be one of the world’s first highway-capable “urban” electric vehicles, which started shipping out to European customers last month from the company’s Finnish partner Valmet Automotive.

The manufacturer said its vehicle could travel at highway speeds for more than 100 miles on a single charge, with zero local emissions.

Culmination of 19 years’ development, the company said its vehicle was the world’s first to achieve the European CE certification, which has required “extensive testing and validation”, with “several hundred computer simulations and correlations”.

THINK CEO Richard Canny, said: “Things are moving very swiftly for the company in Europe following the start of production in Finland and the subsequent start of sales at the end of last year. Now its time for us to do the same in the North American market – and there’s no better place to start than Indiana.”

THINK will benefit from incentives provided by the State of Indiana and Elkhart County, and will also seek funding from the US Department of Energy ATVM loan program to establish the facility.

Lithium-ion battery maker EnerDel, which is part of Ener1 and owns a 31% stake in THINK, is also locating a manufacturing facility in Indiana.

Mr Canny said: “Indiana is quickly becoming an international leader in advanced, clean technology manufacturing. It’s an industry with a future, and EV’s are right in the center of the convergence of where the auto and energy sectors are heading. We’re proud to be part of this effort to reinvent and reinvest in U.S. auto manufacturing.”