Financial Crisis and Lack of Aid Proves Lethal Combo for EV Maker Think Global
By Scott Doggett January 26, 2009
Norwegian electric-vehicle startup Think Global was dying the last time we took a look
at the company, all of five weeks ago.
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R.I.P.: Think's adorable City EV.
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Since then, the company did in fact go belly up. Today, The Wall Street Journal published a story on Think's demise (subscription required) as "a cautionary tale about automotive start-ups."
The entire story can be summed up in one sentence:
Making cars requires lots of parts, a long and complicated supply chain, tons of money, and if the company doesn't have access to tons of money, it could die.
The story ain't no "thought piece," but this quote three paragraphs from the top gave us pause:
"We were so close to break-even and being cash-flow positive," said Think Chief Executive Richard Canny. "It doesn't seem right that the traditional auto companies are getting massive public money to stave off their decline, while newcomers in the electric-car space are being starved of capital."
He's right, of course. Venture capital for EV makers is as easy to come by these days as an EV1, yet old, struggling automakers that produce oil-dependent rides are being tossed lifelines by governments on at least three continents.
The world needs more Thinks, not fewer. What happened to that innovative company is a crying shame.
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