Affordable Electric Cars Coming to US in 2009
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>> Update: Think City: An Affordable Electric Car you Won’t See Until 2010
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).
My recommendation: Get yourself a plug-in hybrid as soon as they become available and then put solar panels on your roof through a community solar purchasing program.
Updates [1/28/2009]:
More Photos of the TH!NK City:
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
Bike, Walking, and Public Transit aren’t always available? I live about 20 miles away from my work place in a small town in kentucky. We don’t exactly have subways, monorails, and busses to get us everywhere we want to go. And with it being 20 miles, walking is out of the question, and I have no desire to get up a few hours early just to bike to work…So I’m happy with my normal car that runs on gas…even though it is 3.50 a gallon.
I would sell my 2liter and buy this one instead.
The Aptera Electric Plug-in Hybrid is a way better buy than this thing. Check it out.
WTF said: “Why do alternative fuel cars that are affordable always look so gay?”
They don’t. Check out this one for under 30K.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4237853.html
@ Uncle B
Little too soon to claim this as some sort of political victory. Gas for your car isn’t the only thing coming from the oil wells in the Middle East. What about rocket fuel? Jet fuel (all the airlines)? Plastic?
Nevertheless, it would have a pretty major impact.
I would call cheap being sub 14k for such a vehicle. If the American and European car makers can’t do that then India no doubt will. The cost of making electric vehicles is greatly reduced over fuel munching vehicles simply by design. Mechanical compression engines have hundreds of parts, an electric motor has fewer than 10 major components. Regulators are cheap, and so too are batteries. The most expensive component of this car is the body kit and safety gear.
angry about wasting our fue,
I agree about driving smaller engines even though I’m American. I’d drive one if I could find what I need. Where the Hell are the cars that are needed?
I drive 40 miles one way and 40 miles back. Why? I need the paycheck and can’t find it in the area where my home is located. If I sell my home I will have to pay double or triple the price to purchase the same size or smaller house in the area where I work. It isn’t as simple as everyone wants to rant, rave and point fingers about.
On the other hoof, I have my own rant, rave and finger pointing to do.If I had a small 1.2 gas engined car without the “HYBRID” attached to it I may be happy. Driving 40 miles of highway one way makes a Hybrid useless.
I also need my small truck for deliveries.
Oh, I just thought of something cool! I can buy one of these $25,000 electric cars, put a gas drive generator in the back to keep the batteries topped off and tow a trailer. When I realize that the dumpy little car won’t cut it I can pull the batteries, electric motor and generator out and install a real 10.0 motor.
Damn! Right back where I started.
Not all alternative fuel cars HAVE to look look gay…just take a look at the Chevy Volt. MAN! That’s one sexy lookin’ car! Now, THAT’S what I’ve been talkin’ about! Forget the Prius uglier-then-s**t-but-I’m-driving-this-thing-so-everybody-will-know-how-I’m-saving-the-planet freak show….
@but what if…
I grew up in KY and 20 miles on empty rural roads is a cakewalk compared to my urban bike commute in SF these days. If you’re too lazy to make a difference, just say so, but don’t make excuses. FYI, 20 miles is not “a few hours”, on a decent road bike you should have no problem averaging 17mph. Since you need 60 minutes of exercise a day anyway you’d probably only be out another 75 minutes a day tops, and you’d be healthier. Care or don’t but don’t make excuses, that just encourages other people to be lazy.
Please watch the Documentary ” Who Killed the Electric Car ” on Google video. Our Corrupt Aholes on the hill will never allow these babies on the road again.