Think City: An Affordable Electric Car you Won’t See Until 2010
Last April, we reported that a small, affordable electric car would finally be available in the U.S. in 2009. Like many predictions made about electric vehicles, this one was a little optimistic.
On March 12, Norweigian electric car manufactuer Think announced plans to open up a manufacturing plant in the United States. The plant would eventually employ up to 900 people and have the capacity to produce about 60,000 electric vehicles per year.
We see ourselves playing a small but potentially growing role in re-inventing the U.S. auto industry by bringing back new manufacturing jobs to the U.S. to replace internal combustion engine vehicles that are expensive to operate and maintain with clean, efficient electric vehicles.
-Richard Canny, CEO of Think
Think is currently meeting with representatives from 8 different states about the manufacturing plant, but these plans are dependent on securing a loan from the Department of Energy (which the company will apply for on March 31st).
The predicted ‘affordable electric car’, the Th!nk City EV, is a four-seater with 112 mile range and top speed of 65 mph, priced under $25,000, made from 95% recyclable materials, and originally estimated to be available in the U.S. in 2009. It’s now clear that this car will not be available until 2010, and then only as 2500 vehicles for pilot testing and demonstration fleets. The rest of us will have to wait until 2011 to get our hands on one, and by then it might be too late.
What we were most excited about back in April was the timing of this car’s release. While the Think City has ‘city driving appeal’, it’s unclear how well it will be received alongside the more mainstream plug-in hybrids that will be coming online around the same time.
Want to know what the car is actually like? Our friends at Popular Mechanics just took one for a test drive.
[Image credit: Think]
[...] >> Update: Think City: An Affordable Electric Car you Won’t See Until 2010 [...]
I drove this car several years ago when Ford had a stake in the company. Aside from some noticeable regenerative brake feedback it was pleasant and capable in city conditions and gave a sense of being a full-grown car versus a glorified golf cart. The 25k price point will prevent this from becoming the next ‘people’s car’. Too bad, because I imagine that it is very well developed by now. dmcd
If they want my help with support on that subsidy, then they will have to structure it correctly.
1. No cash from any government entity.
2. A Tax moratorium for a specific number of years.
This will effectively make the amount of the subsidy dependent upon the marketability of the product. It removes the design of the product from the government and places it directly into the manufacturer’s hands. It reduces the retail price thus increasing the marketability. If it is a good product, it will sell after the tax moratorium ends and the prices increases to cover the taxes.
Until then the local economy will benefit from the jobs produced by the product and the company, and we taxpayers do not have to provide a subsidy and then pay for it too.
It’s too bad that the Think company ran into funding problems; but it seems that they are reborn again, and looking for a U.S. site to manufacture their City automobile.
The bad news is that they City will not be available here in America until 2011, or so. But, at least they are attempting to remain viable.
I wish them good luck.
I would love to have one of these but they insist on leasing the battery instead of selling it ouright. The lease price is going to be $80 or $90 a month which is more than I currently spend on gas and I have started to aquire the parts to assemble my ethanol still to cut that down even more. I believe that a lot more people would buy a car like this if it would save them money while saving the environment. Of course when gas again hits $4 or $5 a gallon(or more) the monthly lease will be very apealling to a lot of people, me included.
under $25k…. come on .. we need something under $10k ..
It’s a nice introduction but that price range puts it into luxury vehicle territory. While it produces less overall pollution, the range limitation and just the tiny package is too little for the upper scale market. Except for the more Environmentally friendly, it’ll probably be just a small niche group.
It’s definitely an upgrade from the Geo Metro as far as fuel efficiency goes. Plus the extra 600lbs is mostly batteries. Not too shabby a design I suppose, but they could have used a little bigger electric motor…It sounds like their motor is rated by some really short rating. It only takes about 20hp for such a small car to reach 70mph(approx) unless it has the aerodynamics of a SUV or truck. Which means they’re using a small 13kw motor rated for only one hour of use. And those are fairly cheap IMHO sub $3k.
Good luck selling that, Th!nk City.
Hi,I think the price is only for the rich.There are more minimum wage workers that need vehicles.Consider the market from their vantage point.Good luck,Denise
Hi again, Consider opening a plant in Rhode Island.Many residents here need work.Thank you,Denise