Norwegian electric car company Think yesterday announced plans to start production in Elkhart County, Indiana and launch its Think City vehicle in the North American market.
The company, which has struggled financially over the last year, plans to begin selling the vehicle in the U.S. later this year. The company plans to invest $43.5 million in building improvements and equipment in Elkhart County, and the plant could begin assembling vehicles in early 2011.
Lithium-ion battery maker, EnerDel
also has manufacturing facilities in Elkhart County. EnerDel’s parent comany, Ener1, is a 31% equity stakeholder in Think.
In
addition to incentives provided by the State of Indiana and Elkhart
County, Think said it plans to utilize funding from the U.S. Department of
Energy ATVM loan program to establish its new production facility.
Think plans to establish manufacturing capacity for more than 20,000 vehicles a year.
The company started delivering the latest generation of its Think City model to customers in Europe last month.
The vehicle can travel at highway speeds for more than 100 miles on a single charge with zero local emissions.
European production of the Think City is already underway in Finland with manufacturing partner Valmet Automotive, which also assembles the Porsche Boxster and Cayman models for Porsche AG. Production will continue at Valmet Automotive to support European market demand, where sales have begun in selected key EV markets such as Austria, Denmark, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden.
Think CEO Richard Canny, said: “Indiana is quickly becoming an international leader in advanced, clean technology manufacturing. It’s an industry with a future, and EV’s are right in the center of the convergence of where the auto and energy sectors are heading. We’re proud to be part of this effort to reinvent and reinvest in U.S. auto manufacturing.”
Think narrowly escaped bankruptcy at the beginning of the year, temporarily shutting down production before receiving a bridge loan.
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