No Norwegian Electric Cars? TH!NK Againâ€¦

Thereâ€™s Life After Ford

by Gustavo Henrique Ruffo
March 9, 2008 11:55 PM
Filed Under: European, Geneva Motor Show, Specialty Marques, Technology

When Ford, at the time still under Jack Nasser’s control, announced it would build an electric vehicle called Th!nk, in 2000, some people doubted it would go ahead. The car was made by a Norwegian company, PIVCO, bought by the American giant in December 1998 and renamed TH!NK Nordic AS. In 2003, Ford sold the enterprise in January 31 2003 to to Kamkorp Microelectronics, a Swiss company, and, in March 2006, it got back to Norwegian hands, more specifically the investment group InSpire. The result of all this is exposed at the Geneva Motor Show. For those who think the best for the company would be to remain under Ford’s control, two new cars from Think Global (the new company’s name) prove that’s not exactly how things ought to go. Meet the Th!nk city and the TH!NK ox.

The first one, the city, will be on sale in Norway soon after the Geneva Motor Show. Denmark and Sweden will be the next countries to receive this small two-seater, with UK, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands following shortly afterwards, in 2009. Although it comes only with two seats, there are two rear seats that can be ordered as options, what may not be a nice idea on a 3.12 m long vehicle, with a wheelbase of mere 1.97 m. Top speed is 100 km/h, since the car weighs 1,397 kg (a heavy guy for its size). Prices start at € 24,500.

For Norwegian drivers that need more space, but are still willing to buy an electric vehicle, there’s the second new car, the first five-seater from Think. The ox is a 4.12 m long vehicle. Although still a concept, the vehicle will very likely enter production, considering there is a high demand in Norway for this sort of automobile and even the first TH!NK City cars are still running up there.

If space is a matter, the ox will offer plenty of it, with a generous wheelbase of 2.78 m. Though bigger, the ox weighs little more than the city: 1,500 kg.

Range matters seem to have been solved. Both the city and the ox are able to run more than 200 km on one charge, although only the ox has been presented with lithium ion batteries. Tesla Motors has recently announced an agreement with Think to sell these batteries to the Norwegian manufacturer. Nowadays, the city uses sodium batteries, but that may change soon.

Source: Think Global
Press Release (Click to expand)

Norwegian Design to GenÃ¨ve

Think is launching the new TH!NK city at the 78th International Geneva Motor Show in March. Architects from SnÃ¸hetta have designed the 1100 m2 spectacular outdoor stand. With big, clean bubbles for the cars to drive in, Think will put environment on the agenda of the worldâ€™s car giants.

26.02.08
We have had great pleasure of cooperating with SnÃ¸hetta prior to the car exhibition. This will be our first big introduction in Europe and we want to show who we are through our stand at the fair. SnÃ¸hetta has truly managed to capture the essence of the TH!NK brand. We are excited to show the world what we stand for, says Katinka von der Lippe, head of design at Think Global.

Think + SnÃ¸hetta
Think began its cooperation with SnÃ¸hetta the summer of 2007. Together, they have worked on designing a clear expression for TH!NK. The result is a bubble, which represents the clean, the holistic and the earth. The bubble appears at the stand, in the new TH!NK brand movie and in all the material at the stand in GenÃ¨ve.

- Finding partners that think the same way as we do is inspiring. SnÃ¸hetta is an innovative and visionary company. The bubble is a perfect way to conceptualize our plan of zero emission, von der Lippe continues.

- We are a company that thinks differently. We work to design for the future, which makes Think en perfect partner for us. It has been both exciting and engaging to set our mark on TH!NKâ€™s big Europe-launch, Kjetil Thorsen, administrative director of SnÃ¸hetta explains.

A clean stand
SnÃ¸hettaâ€™s TH!NK-stand is made up of globes in different sizes. A hemisphere will create a VIP-area. A TH!NK city will be driving inside one of the bubbles made out of transparent PVC, which is seven metres in diameter. The spheres on the ceiling are actual weather balloons. The flooring consists of recycled car tires. The exhibition designers SixSides have been responsible for shaping and constructing SnÃ¸hettaâ€™s concept.

The big Europe launch
The 78th international car fair in GenÃ¨ve is Europaâ€™s largest and is held from the 4th â€“ 16th of March. The fair attracts 700.000 visitors from the whole world, among them over 5.000 journalists. The Think stand will be the first stand outdoors. Think has arranged for test driving the TH!NK city. At the Think press conference the 5th of March, Think will present their new concept car and a new international partnership.

Think will over the course of the spring deliver the first cars for the Norwegian market and plan to begin the international sale later this year. Starting in Denmark and Sweden this year, followed by launching in the UK, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands already in 2009. â€“ We are very excited to present the car in GenÃ¨ve, Thinkâ€™s chief of design concludes.

About Think
Think designs, develops, manufactures and markets environmentally friendly vehicles and technologies. The company has more than 17 years of experience in developing and producing electric vehicles. Today, 1 400 TH!NKs are driving on Norwegian roads. The new TH!NK city is a fifth generation electrical vehicle assembled at Aurskog, Norway. The first cars will be delivered to Norwegian customers in the spring of 2008. Later, the car will be launched in selected markets in Europe. Think Global has around 120 employees and is led by Jan-Olaf Willums. Strong owners with visions and resources want to make Think the car company of the 21st century. For more info: www.think.no

Press ReleaseNorwegian Design to GenÃ¨ve

Think is launching the new TH!NK city at the 78th International Geneva Motor Show in March. Architects from SnÃ¸hetta have designed the 1100 m2 spectacular outdoor stand. With big, clean bubbles for the cars to drive in, Think will put environment on the agenda of the worldâ€™s car giants.

26.02.08
We have had great pleasure of cooperating with SnÃ¸hetta prior to the car exhibition. This will be our first big introduction in Europe and we want to show who we are through our stand at the fair. SnÃ¸hetta has truly managed to capture the essence of the TH!NK brand. We are excited to show the world what we stand for, says Katinka von der Lippe, head of design at Think Global.

Think + SnÃ¸hetta
Think began its cooperation with SnÃ¸hetta the summer of 2007. Together, they have worked on designing a clear expression for TH!NK. The result is a bubble, which represents the clean, the holistic and the earth. The bubble appears at the stand, in the new TH!NK brand movie and in all the material at the stand in GenÃ¨ve.

- Finding partners that think the same way as we do is inspiring. SnÃ¸hetta is an innovative and visionary company. The bubble is a perfect way to conceptualize our plan of zero emission, von der Lippe continues.

- We are a company that thinks differently. We work to design for the future, which makes Think en perfect partner for us. It has been both exciting and engaging to set our mark on TH!NKâ€™s big Europe-launch, Kjetil Thorsen, administrative director of SnÃ¸hetta explains.

A clean stand
SnÃ¸hettaâ€™s TH!NK-stand is made up of globes in different sizes. A hemisphere will create a VIP-area. A TH!NK city will be driving inside one of the bubbles made out of transparent PVC, which is seven metres in diameter. The spheres on the ceiling are actual weather balloons. The flooring consists of recycled car tires. The exhibition designers SixSides have been responsible for shaping and constructing SnÃ¸hettaâ€™s concept.

The big Europe launch
The 78th international car fair in GenÃ¨ve is Europaâ€™s largest and is held from the 4th â€“ 16th of March. The fair attracts 700.000 visitors from the whole world, among them over 5.000 journalists. The Think stand will be the first stand outdoors. Think has arranged for test driving the TH!NK city. At the Think press conference the 5th of March, Think will present their new concept car and a new international partnership.

Think will over the course of the spring deliver the first cars for the Norwegian market and plan to begin the international sale later this year. Starting in Denmark and Sweden this year, followed by launching in the UK, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands already in 2009. â€“ We are very excited to present the car in GenÃ¨ve, Thinkâ€™s chief of design concludes.

About Think
Think designs, develops, manufactures and markets environmentally friendly vehicles and technologies. The company has more than 17 years of experience in developing and producing electric vehicles. Today, 1 400 TH!NKs are driving on Norwegian roads. The new TH!NK city is a fifth generation electrical vehicle assembled at Aurskog, Norway. The first cars will be delivered to Norwegian customers in the spring of 2008. Later, the car will be launched in selected markets in Europe. Think Global has around 120 employees and is led by Jan-Olaf Willums. Strong owners with visions and resources want to make Think the car company of the 21st century. For more info: www.think.no

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Comments

good commercial, fugly car

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by Joe_Limon | March 10, 2008 1:15 AM

Not zero emissions in the UK - the lion's share of our electricity is produced at fossil fuels plants. So charging these things still chucks crap into the air, it just does it in the countryside rather than in the towns.

I wish the Th!nk guys luck though.

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by bristol411s3 | March 10, 2008 9:35 AM

i th!nk it looks quite good, like a smart with a little bit of MINI in the mix. Bristol is right though, Britain is the worse large country in europe for environmentally friendly electricty production.... bring on the windfarms.

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by joelynn | March 10, 2008 5:27 PM

very beautiful proportions , Think you very much ! wish that Ox's generous frontal glazed area would be glare- attenuated as its unwanted effects upon the dashboard surface would surely distract this vehicle's operator .

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by THERENAISSANCEMAN | March 11, 2008 8:52 AM