550 Think City electric cars coming to Spain
Think's European expansion continues with the announcement that 550 of the company's City electric vehicles will be delivered to Spain later this year and in the first part of 2010. Think announced today the MOU it signed with its Spanish partner, Going Green, to bring the small EVs to Spain, starting with five test vehicles early this summer. The Spanish government has announced it will spend up to 10 million Euros to support early introduction of electric vehicles and build a charging infrastructure within its borders.
Spain is taking multiple paths to helping domestic automakers produce cleaner car, including offering low-interest loans to automakers operating within its borders. General Motors is another automaker looking at bringing plug-in vehicles to Spain. Thanks to Richard for the tip!
Gallery: Think City in Detroit
[Source: Think, Green Wombat]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Richard 4:37PM (5/06/2009)
Take not of the irony bit at the end of Green Wombats article:
"Ironically, one country not providing incentives to Think is Norway. The Norwegian government has rejected Think’s plea for a loan guarantee to help it raise capital. That had Think investor Wilber James, a venture capitalist with Rockport Capital Partners, fuming when Green Wombat ran into him at Fortune Magazine’s Brainstorm Green conference two weeks ago.
“The Norwegian government has made trillions from North Sea oil, and they can’t give Think $10 million!” said James, whose firm invested in Think last year and formed Think North America with Silicon Valley VC Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. He noted that three U.S. states, meanwhile, are offering tax breaks and cash in a bid to become the site of Think North America’s first U.S. factory. Oregon was one of the states, James said; he would not say what the other two were."
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Yanquetino 8:39PM (5/06/2009)
According to what we've read here lately, this means that Th!nk has agreed to supply 550 vehicles to Spain, 500 to the Netherlands, 100 to Austria, and about 1,000 to Sweden. That's a good start if they can fulfill the commitment. Let's hope that they can also secure the funding to build a plant in the U.S. (Just tell them that the bottom line of the logo on the door is in Portuguese. In Spanish it should be: "¡100% eléctrico!")
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Stan Wellaway 4:41AM (5/07/2009)
The Barcelona Motor Show kicks off today (7 May is Press Day, 8 May Press/Guests, 9-17 May public exhibition. And May 14 apparently is the day they hold a seminar on electric cars and associated infrastructure.
I don't know how many EVs will be on show. I do know that the Ford Tourneo BEV (electrified by Smith Electric Vehicles) will be there on the Ford stand, following on from its first appearance at the Geneva show. I don't know if it will be the 5-seater or the stretched 8-seater, but I do know that the feedback they got since Geneva has been highly encouraging.
I am pleased to see the Th!nk project making progress, but I have yet to be convinced that the vehicle design is good enough. It needs more room in the back, and to me it looks dated already. I don't see it competing against the electric version of the Citroen C1 announced this week.
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