Affordable Electric Cars Coming to US in 2009
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While we love hearing about sweet rides like the $100K Tesla Roadster, a functional and economical electric car made for the rest of us would be even cooler.
This could be it: the Th!nk City electric car, a four-seater with 110 mile range and top speed of 65 mph, priced under $25,000, made from 95% recyclable materials, and available in the U.S. in 2009.
The Th!nk City electric car is the product of Norwegian firm Th!nk Global, an auto manufacturer backed by Silicon Valley funding who has plans to assemble the cars in Southern California. In contrast to Tesla’s limited release of 300 cars per year, the Th!nk City is designed for mass production to the tune of 30-50,000 units within a few years. Th!nk already produces about 10,000 of these cars in Europe annually.
As an interesting aside, Ford Motor Company originally developed the vehicle, but (in a move they may soon regret), sold it to Norwegian investors in 2003. Why is it so cool? Because most of us don’t drive more than 40 miles in a day, and small electric cars are optimally suited for congested city driving. The benefits are pretty obvious, but if you’re worried about getting out for the weekend with the Th!nk City, don’t. Use it for city driving and keep that gas-guzzling SUV for forays into the mountains. You’ll still come out ahead.
Safety-wise, the Th!nk City meets the strict safety requirements of both Europe and the US as a highway-safe road car. ABS brakes, airbags, side-impact bars, and an advanced frame designed to absorb energy and distribute it away from the passenger’s compartment make it another blow to the myth that bigger cars are inherently safer.
If recent sales trends toward smaller vehicles are any indication (sales of Toyota Yaris up 70%), the Th!ink city could be very popular when released in the US.
Check out a few more pictures (below), and learn more from Th!nk’s website.
Addendum: Are plug-in electric vehicles a perfect answer to our transportation problems? I think you’ll see from the comments below that no, they aren’t. As one reader pointed out, dead batteries in the Th!nk City could take up to 10 hours to charge. That’s not only inconvenient, but putting 50,000 of these on the road could cause serious power draw (see Plug-In Hybrids Could Require 160 New Power Plants By 2030 (Or None At All and Plug-In Hybrids Use Over 17 Times More Water Than Regular Cars, Researchers Say). Since such a large portion of US power generation comes from coal, the increasing use of plug-in hybrid and electric cars will require serious consideration of other energy sources (for example, see How Solar Panels Could Power 90% of US Transportation).
Related Posts on Electric Cars:
- An Electric Car You Can Buy Today: The $20K TRIAC EV
- Aptera’s $26,000 Electric Car and 300 MPG Hybrid Coming Soon
- Tesla Motors Sues Fisker Automotive Over Electric Car Design
- Tesla’s First Electric Vehicle, 2008 Roadster, Now Under Production
- Subaru Unleashes R1e Electric Car on New York
- Chevy Volt’s Lithium-Ion Batteries Road- Tested By Month’s End
- Get 120 MPG Out of Your Prius (Plug It In)
- The Sporty Future of Electrics Cars: the Lightning GT
Photo Credits: Th!nk
aww-shucks. Just when I was thinking I’d never need a greater salary than non-profit provides, a car that actually seems worth making more money to get! 25k is great, and definitely managable… if only 10k more a year was made. Still smiling, just begun living the adult life, rumor is personal cars are an expectation.
Looks good. I wonder who’s going to get there first? Think City, or Zenn Car. Zenn has a running partnership with a firm working on ultracapacitors over batteries. I cannot clain to understand the physics, especially since I thought that capacitors discharged their stored charge all at once, and these apparantly do not, but if it flies it is promising. 80 MPH, 200 miles to a charge, US freeway compliant, and recharged in 10 minutes, 100,000 charge lifecycle, the capacitor itself full recyclable vs. LiIon batteries, which are not.
I’m in the market, and interested to see who gets there first.
How is $25,000 affordable? This car is tiny and ugly. The prius is like $26,000, gets better mpg and has a way better design.
Call me when when a $12,000 electric shows up.
How about…
Buy this car and RENT a gasoline vehicle if you ever need one.
Hey “angry”, I drive a 15 year old Saturn, and I’m American. So shove your attitude up your arse. Not everyone over here drives an SUV, you tard.
angry about wasting our fuel:
You are a poptart. Not everyone in the US drive tanks. I get over 35MHG in my 06 GTI, which has a 2.0L.
Sweet! I’m still going to happily drive my 14 MPG Range Rover and run the hot water a half hour before I get in the shower, but since I’ve been selling so much Green Consulting work this year, I’ll have an alternative vehicle in which I can take clients to lunch. It gets old telling people my $250 sustainable shirt is made of bamboo and explaining my $30 reusable steel water bottle. One look at this car and they’ll know for sure I’m the guy that can craft and market a new clean image for them.
Am I missing something…I live in an apartment and usually park four blocks away…where do I recharge??
Do these cars have heat and air conditioning?
The concept is good. The cause is good too. Its an errand car. What do you expect an errand car to do? Do small short spurts of travel errand running. I can see people using it, but for its not for me. I wouldn’t argue the fact that it is usable. Though one big question comes to mind. Well actually a few. What about the maintenance? How much would it cost me over the time period to keep maintenance for the car over what I already have? How difficult is the maintenance from the easiest most practical things we do now with the gas guzzlers? How expensive would it be for the major parts of the car to break down? Are there special parts for the car that is not conviently available, if so what is it, where can i find it, and of course how much? Would there be any shops that can maintenance my car? See personally I see this car great for being friendly by not using gas directly to the engine. It may be eco-friendly to your wallet pumping gas for your trips. Can it be also eco-friendly to your wallet for keeping the car in shape? I also prefer to do my own maintenance given the fact that I may have used my own time and effort of doing, but saving more money by not having to spend that money for labor. Get me a six pack of beer and I’m good to go.