Th!nk Ox: An Electric Car With Style and Smarts
Norwegian company Th!nk is hoping to kick start the market for electric cars with its upcoming five-seater, the Ox.
Although an Ox is not what I’d call a particularly stylish or intelligent animal, don’t let the name confuse you — the Th!nk Ox could be about the most attractive and functional electric car ever designed. Before the debate starts over that claim, note the all-important “and” between the words attractive and functional.
Due out in 2010/2011, the Ox is about the size of a Toyota Prius. It can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 8.5 seconds, travel between 125 and 155 miles on a single charge, and its lithium-ion batteries can be charged to 80% capacity in less than an hour.
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Solar panels on its roof power equipment such as the radio, navigation system, instrument panel, and air conditioning — even while parked with the car switched off.
The Ox is fully connected: GPS, mobile internet, a customizable digital dashboard, as well as a whole host of other modern features, all link the driver to his or her surroundings.
In April we wrote about Th!nk’s new North American partnership with venture firms RockPort Capital and Kleiner Perkins. This partnership gave rise to ThInk North America.
It may not seem like a big deal, but Rockport Capital and Kleiner Perkins have an excellent track record when it comes to choosing and investing in winners. Indeed, both firms provided much needed funding to companies such as Amazon and Google when they were mere start-ups.
These days, with the number of start-up electric vehicle companies nearing the ridiculous stage, it’s hard to know who among them will actually stand the test of time.
Yet Th!nk has positioned itself to be a promising competitor in the race, and, from the get-go, looks as if it has endurance.
Not only does Think have the backing of the above venture powerhouses, its first vehicle, the City, is already being sold in Europe for around US $25,000. Think is on track to sell about 10,000 of them there this year.
With the establishment of Think North America, the City will be available to US customers by early 2009. What does this mean for the rest of us? Given that Th!nk already has a working product and has the backing of some prestigious financiers, it looks like the Ox is for real. It’s exciting to think it might be my next car.
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- An Electric Car With Muscle: The 175 MPGe X1 Prototype by Wrightspeed Inc.
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Image credits: Th!nk Global
Source: Businessweek
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June 23rd, 2008 at 8:51 pm
If the top speed is around 75mph-ish I’d buy one in a second. Doing 65mph on the Arizona highways will get you killed.
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Out of all the Th!nk vehicles, this one looks the most promising!
I think the solar panels on the roof to power the electronics is awesome.
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:42 pm
I’d love to have the Ox. I only drive my car some 10 or 15 miles a week. My fiance drives more but still only 50 or 60 a week max. It would make great sense for us to go all electric. Now I just wish there were more plug in spots. I wouldn’t mind plugging in the car while I ate lunch or dinner on the road.
June 23rd, 2008 at 11:19 pm
I would like nothing more to make this my next vehicle. But where do I take it to get it fixed?
June 23rd, 2008 at 11:23 pm
[...] gets a car named after him! The Ox! First line of the article: [...]
June 23rd, 2008 at 11:50 pm
Smarts yes, but not style. This car looks like anus.
How hard is it to make a good looking electric car? Tesla Motors can do it.
June 23rd, 2008 at 11:50 pm
Could the batteries used in this car be the breakthrough everyone is waiting for?
http://www.lightningcarcompany.co.uk/home.php
June 24th, 2008 at 12:23 am
Hmm, Rockport Capital and Kleiner Perkins were around in 1892 to help start up GE eh?
June 24th, 2008 at 12:24 am
@ Jorge
Thank you for your good eyes and knowledge. I’m surpised no one else caught that until now. That was a typo from when that particular sentence was merged with another sentence. GE made a $4 million dollar investment in Th!nk. In editing, I got rid of that sentence but somehow I mushed them together to make a ridiculous statement that both venture firms had contributed to GE when it was a start-up.
The mistake has been fixed.
Thanks again
June 24th, 2008 at 12:25 am
@Lies … usually I’d agree, but this is the first one I thought was actually cool. I’d buy it for about $10k-ish.
June 24th, 2008 at 1:00 am
>The Ox is fully connected: GPS, mobile internet, a customizable digital dashboard, as well as a whole host of other modern features
All add expense and something to break and require a maintenance infrastructure that doesn’t exist. Simple, PLEASE! The solar panels on the roof are superfluous too, cheaper and FAR simpler to just make the battery 1% larger – or wait until a hailstorm and have to replace a $2000 roof… These are signs that this is a concept car, not a realistic take on a production vehicle. Either it’ll get stripped down a bit or it’ll flop to the better looking models on the high-end market.
We don’t need something that looks like a shuttlecraft from the Enterprise, just a normal looking family sedan that is all electric – when those cars start appearing, THAT will show the rise of the electric car from a ‘hey, look at me’ niche thing to a mainstream transportation option.
June 24th, 2008 at 1:36 am
I contacted them to try and get an OX a.s.ap. but this is what they replied with:
Thank you for your interest in TH!NK North America and the new all-electric city vehicle! TH!NK Global, based in Norway, is currently in production with the 5th generation city vehicle. The city will be available in select markets throughout Europe later in 2008. Plans are underway to finalize the development of a US version for sale sometime later in 2009 to fleet customers and consumers throughout the US that will meet or exceed all Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
The price for the US TH!NK city vehicle has not been set but we anticipate it to cost the same or less than a current hybrid vehicle on sale today. At this time TH!NK North America is exploring many avenues in which to distribute the TH!NK city vehicle in the US and once it has been determined how best to market and sell the vehicles, a press announcement will be distributed.
TH!NK Global is also in development for the new 5-seat all-electric TH!NK Ox and plans are underway to sell and distribute this stunning vehicle in select European markets in 2010-2011. The roll-out into the US will follow after Europe and pricing will be set once we gear up for production.
Through 2008 TH!NK will be bringing a small number of the European version TH!NK city vehicles to the US for demonstration and pilot programs. As there will be a limited number of vehicles available for these projects, they will be used in select fleet applications only.
Your email has automatically been entered into our database to receive upcoming newsletters and the latest information. Check back on the TH!NK website at http://www.think.no for updated information. Thank you again for your interest in TH!NK North America!
Vicki Northrup
Operations
TH!NK North America
2750 Sand Hill Rd
Menlo Park, CA 94025
June 24th, 2008 at 1:45 am
I agree with the previous poster – I’d also be interested but only if it was in the $10,000+ range – I know that batteries are expensive but why are all the electric cars carrying prices thats 50% higher than a equivalent gas equipped auto.
June 24th, 2008 at 1:49 am
Congratulations. It looks good progress.
June 24th, 2008 at 5:45 am
It does look like anus.
June 24th, 2008 at 6:53 am
Some guy who knew about the future said that eventually, everyone will be driving cars that look the same. Looks like we are headed in that direction as everyone is looking for that one special electric car.
June 24th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
Mechanics hate electric cars.
Why? Because they are incredibly simple, rarely break down and when they do, they are really easy to fix.
It’s certainly not something a potential electric car owner needs to worry about!
Don’t take my word for it, look it up.
I would like to buy an Ox…
June 25th, 2008 at 6:19 am
soooo instead of directly consuming fossil fuel we’re going to indirectly consume it. hey geniusus where do you think the power point to charge this car uses.
they will never put out enough renewable energy plants like solar and wind in time, so their just going up ship the petrol/gas from the stations directly to the powerplants instead.
why aren’t people heavily investing in hydrogen or water cars?
June 25th, 2008 at 6:27 am
Why does a nice looking car seem like rocket science now a days?
Tesla is doing it for 92K – which is nuts. Exactly how much loss of mileage do we loose from some nice styling?
Magic formula…
Give me a car that goes (100 miles on a charge) or (60 miles and can use bio-diesel/USDL) and not look like a wedge (or ‘97 Honda Civic Hatchback) and cost 30K.
Honda, Toyota, Nissan, and any American company still around; there is your secret formula.
June 25th, 2008 at 6:31 am
Quoccus. Electric cars are still much cleaner than their petroleum counterparts. People are investing heavily in hydrogen powered vehicles, but they are decades away…
June 25th, 2008 at 8:57 am
Hopefully they will be sold in Canada, as domestic EVs are too low speed (not street legal).
MikeTravaline, Toronto, ON, Canada
June 25th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Found out where they got the idea to have the solar panels on the roof
http://www.edn.com/index.asp?layout=blog&blog_id=1470000147&blog_post_id=30010203
June 25th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
@Quoccus
“soooo instead of directly consuming fossil fuel we’re going to indirectly consume it. hey geniusus where do you think the power point to charge this car uses.”
This is why the same people who buy these types of cars should buy solar panels for their home and use that energy for when they plug in the vehicle.
June 25th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Very cool. Solar technology as well as electric car tech is finally coming into the mainstream. This is due to prices coming down as well as conventional power going up.
June 26th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
IS THERE A WAY OF RESERVING ONE OF THE U.S. THINK ELECTRIC VEHICLES?
July 1st, 2008 at 2:36 pm
It’s not very good looking…
July 2nd, 2008 at 3:32 am
I already sent this comment but it wasn’t published…does anyone know the approximate price of the Ox when it is marketed in US?
July 14th, 2008 at 6:20 am
Most people will need and use electric cars, the problem is that the manufacturing company using cars that use diesel fuel of Gas, will go out of business, you will not need to buy a OIL filter, no more fuel to buy, the governement will lose a fortune on taxing fuel that no one uses. So what they are going to do, prevent the sale of Electric cars
July 18th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
We can all learn something from what Al Gore had to say the past few weeks. Unless we become self reliant for our energy requirements, we will never again be an independent democratic nation.
We can start with a fundamental change in our driving habits that is now required.
The Automobile Industry is going to be in the same position as the Airline Industry in the next few months. Unless we get away from gas combustion vehicles, including Hybrids, the automobile industry (as we know it) will die.We need to make drastic moves. America needs to move to ELECTRIC. The vehicles are not as fast, not always as fun to drive, but the move will save Americans money (Billions) and help bring change to our automotive companies. Let’s “Be Green”!!!!!!!!!!!! BG Automotive Group Ltd. has a car that will travel 80-100 miles per charge for $15,995. Finally a car that most Americans can afford. Did you know that 80% of all drivers, drive less than 50 miles per day? This new car will cost an equivalent of $0.20-0.25 cents/gallon (depending on electricity rates in your area). Why send $700 Billion per year to OPEC (now buying up U.S. companies) when we can use this money for our schools, health care, social security for all Americans, etc, etc, etc. We can make the difference if WE change.
October 1st, 2008 at 2:58 pm
What about the infrastructure for charging all these coming electric vehicles?
October 1st, 2008 at 4:24 pm
look here for more info on development of a charging infrastructure:
http://gas2.org/2008/07/24/how-to-build-an-electric-car-charging-infrastructure-smart-grids-fast-charging-and-universal-access/
October 16th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
If given the opportunity to buy a safe 4 door hatch back electric vehicle, we would. The Think Ox is what we hoped to see in the ZapX and potentially in a future Tesla Motors vehicle.
November 15th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
[...] Mitsubishi and Mercedes, as well as new start-ups and independent companies such as Tesla and Th!nk. Given the Mini’s style credentials and proven customer demand, this announcement is bound to [...]
May 12th, 2009 at 9:49 pm
After 5000 miles in my geo metro ev conversion. I would like to try a factory made ev. The range and speed of the city 360 are better then the geo was so ether one would work for me if the price is reachable. Beauty is in the engineering not in the sheet metal.
December 4th, 2009 at 10:13 am
good job so far . when can we see one in my area florida 33785 zip
price ??
how many a year and when?
dealership to get repair
lots of dealer ships closing in the states
shouldn,t be a big trick to set them up
just need the units to sell.
don,t wait to long
rdb