Revitalized Think to Show 5th Generation 'City' EV at Helsinki's Electric Auto Show
By John O'Dell November 5, 2009
Think City electric cars on the road at Valmet Automotive production plant in Finland.
As it prepares to move its manufacturing operation from its own facilities in Norway to a contract builder in Finland, a post-bankruptcy Think is cranking up its publicity engines.
The 18-year-old company, which has an agreement with investor Valmet Automotive to have the Finnish engineering and auto manufacturing services provider take over production of the plastic-bodied "urban EV," is showing a ready-for-market model at this weekend's Helsinki Electric Motor Show.
The car, primarily sold to utility and government fleets participating in electric vehicle test programs, is intended for public sale once Valmet production begins.
Think - once owned by Ford Motor Co. - also has plans to launch sales and manufacturing operations in the U.S., where battery supplier Enerdel and its parent, Ener1, are headquartered (Ener1 is also Think's largest single stakeholder).
We're happy to welcome the twice-bankrupt company back to life.
It's two-seat, highway-legal Think City EV was fun to drive back in the early part of the decade when Ford still owned the company, and there have been at least two generations of improvements since then.
The 100-mile, 60 MPH Think (those are maximums - range diminishes as speed increases) remains, we believe, a viable electric car that's way ahead of the curve.
It is a real everyday commuter car already, not an expensive-to-lease test model that might make it into production some day.
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