Norwegian Electric Car Maker Think Plans Expansion, European Marketing Blitz

Norwegian Electric Car Maker Think Plans Expansion, European Marketing Blitz

Think, the Norwegian EV company that once belonged to Ford Motor Co., says it plans to double production early next year and then double it again as it launches a European marketing drive.

The company, which earlier this year opened a U.S. office in Northern California and said it will begin selling its City model (left) here by late next year, intends to increase production of its Think City model to 10,000 a year by the end of 2009, up from about 2,500 a year now.

Think said it will be targeting sales of the highway-legal City early next year to EV-friendly cities throughout Europe - cities that offer purchase incentives, tax breaks, free parking, transit lane access and other perks to drivers of electric vehicles.

Among the most highly rated by the company are Oslo, in Norway; Tel Aviv, Israel; Lisbon, Portugal, and Copenhagen, Denmark.

The model it intends to sell throughout Europe, the City, was developed by Ford for use in the U.S. before the company - under previous, short-sighted management - junked its EV program and sold Think in 2003. It is a plastic-bodied four-seater (seats for two adults and two children), is 95 percent recyclable, has a top speed of around 60 miles an hour and, Think claims, a range of up to 120 miles in slow-speed city driving.

Think, which was founded in Norway in 1991 has had two owners since Ford, which bought it in 1999.  It is now owned by a private investor group headed by Norwegian internet  millionaire Jan-Olaf Willums, who recently stepped down as chief executive officer, a post now held by former Ford global strategic planning director Richard Canny.

Equity investors include electronics giant GE , and the fledgling U.S. operation is heavily funded by well-know advanced technology venture firms Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and  RockPort Capital Partners .

In addition to the City, the company has been developing a full-size, 5-passenger crossover SUV (right), code-named the Ox, for its electric vehicle lineup.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor 

John O'Dell:  is an AutoObserver Senior Editor. Follow @AutoObserver on Twitter.