Th!nk Global to bring electric car to U.S.

Posted Mon Apr 21 2008 11:22 AM by Viknesh Vijayenthiran

Think Global is a Norwegian based manufacturer of electric vehicles and is the same company behind the original ‘Th!nk’ electric car that went on sale in the U.S. during the late 1990s. Back then, Think was owned by Ford, which sold it in 2003 to Swiss company Kamkorp Microelectronics. In 2006 Think went bankrupt and was subsequently rescued by a group of Norwegian investors determined to build the firm into a proper carmaker with a number of all-electric models.

At an industry event for electric vehicles in Los Angeles this weekend, Think executives made the announcement the carmaker will establish operations in the U.S. and eventually launch a range of electric vehicles Stateside.

CEO Jan-Olaf Willums is expected to make the first public announcement during an environmental conference, where Think plans to show its latest all-electric city car, reports Automotive News. Think has partnered with two U.S. firms for its electric powertrains, A123 Systems Inc and EnerDel Inc, and currently sells a number of models in Europe.

At last month’s Geneva Motor Show, Think rolled out the Ox concept car (pictured) that’s said to preview a new five-seater model currently in the works. The powertrain featured in the concept is a 60kW motor powered by either sodium or lithium-ion batteries, and is capable of moving the 3,300lb vehicle from 0-60mph in 8.5 seconds.

Th!nk Ox Concept

Gallery: TH!NK Ox Concept

Reader Comments

Mon Apr 21 2008 12:22 PM
chris says

damn shame that ford sold this company... that technology would be REALLY effin convenient right about now.....
Mon Apr 21 2008 2:25 PM
mlevere1992 says

Is it me, or does this look like a little larger Smart car. Th!ink Smart.......
Mon Apr 21 2008 2:55 PM
chris says

mlevere, mostly what i see is a stretched Ka, but I think thats because the first Th!nk was a european ford.. its still got a lot of the styling cues.
Mon Apr 21 2008 3:11 PM
Gus says

I was thinking it looked like a Euro-Ford of some kind. Looks cool...
Mon Apr 21 2008 4:38 PM
Turkle says

That paint job has to carry over to the production version. I really like the flat black with the silver. With Hybrid sales catching fire, I think that it is getting closer to a time when people will accept an all electric vehicle. The only catch to these cars is the driving distance limitations. Some people can't seem to keep their cell phones charged up, and I can see a day when these cars sit on the side of the road because the driver didn't pay attention to the charge on the car.

MotorAuthority