Swedes give a hand up, Th!nk to give 1,000 cars
Not only does Norwegian electric car maker Th!nk still have a pulse, but it appears to be strengthening. After being raised from its deathbed, the company is now on the receiving end of new investment from a Swedish group of businesses including Gävle Energy, Fortum, Eon and Göteborg Energi as well as the Norwegian solar energy company, REC. Working with Power Circle, a public/private group that already has ties with Th!nk through its "Wind in the Tank" project (PDF), they plan on investing $20 million.
The Swedes hope that Th!nk will not only eventually buy various auto components from Swedish subcontractors, but also help them move their transportation system away from fossil fuels. Th!nk expects to deliver up to 1,000 cars to their neighbors over the next two to three years as part of 12 demonstration projects. A couple of the vehicles are even said to be going to the Royal household. Love live the Th!nk! Hat tip to Luca!
[Source: tu.no]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
andrichrose 5:42PM (2/01/2009)
Its a great little car , but just way too heavy , 1390 kg for a two seater
is just too much ,
The original was aluminium ,when Ford had it ,or was it before that
I forget ! anyway it seems the bean counters over at Think decided
that was too expensive and punched it out of steel , of course the
irony of this is that now the car needs a wacking great 27 kwh battery
to get any sort of decent range , and negatiating any cost saving by
not using aluminium for the frame !
25,000 euros without the battery means the only markets where this
car can be competitive are the highly taxed european states like Norway
and Denmark which have car taxes in the region of 100% and
zero emission cars are rated at zero !
Reply
Mark 7:06PM (2/01/2009)
If they bring this to North America, and it has decent range/speed, it would sell like hotcakes. Th!nk, do you read this blog? Bring the things over here!.
Reply
sherry 8:20PM (2/01/2009)
Good for them, I like the looks of the car. We need to get on with such things. There could be no better investment in America than to invest in America becoming energy independent. The high cost of fuel this past year did serious damage to our economy and society. After a brief reprieve gas prices are inching back up again. Our nation should not allow other nations to have such power over us and our economy . We have so much available to us in the way of technology and free sources of energy. WE seriously need to get on with becoming an energy independent nation. We are spending billions upon billions in bail out dollars. Why not spend some of those billions in getting alternative energy projects set up. We could create clean cheap energy, millions of badly needed new green jobs and lessen our dependence on foreign oil all in one fell swoop. I just read an eye opening book by Jeff Wilson called The Manhattan Project of 2009. It would cost the equivalent of 60 cents per gallon to drive and charge an electric car.If all gasoline cars, trucks, and SUV's instead had plug-in electric drive trains, the amount of electricity needed to replace gasoline is about equal to the estimated wind energy potential of the state of North Dakota. Why don't we use some of the billions in bail out money to bail us out of our dependence on foreign oil? This past year the high cost of fuel so seriously damaged our economy and society that the ripple effects will be felt for years to come. www.themanhattanprojectof2009.com
Reply
Bart 3:43PM (2/02/2009)
I love hybrid cars, can't wait to get one myself... I think Electric Cars will win over Hydrogen cars... too much infrastructure has to be build just to get hydrogen cars off the ground...
Here is a good article Electric Cars - 10 Killer Reasons You'll Want One (http://www.aboutmyplanet.com/hybrids/electric-cars/)
Reply