UKP14,000 TH!NK city electric car ready for showrooms

Think has been developing and producing urban mobility solutions since the early 1990s. Major investments made during the Ford ownership period contributed to an important infrastructural upgrade. New investors are now grooming Think as “The Car Company of the 21st Century.”

The first prototype predecessor to today’s modern TH!NK city was developed in 1991. Drawing on 17 years of experience in electric vehicle development and production, Think is not a typical car industry start-up. TH!NK city was put in serial production in 1999, supported by American car giant Ford.

Ford became a major shareholder and invested USD 150 million in Think during its four years as an owner. When Ford decided to leave the electric vehicle sector in 2003, Think was sold out of the car manufacturing group. Though struggling to survive, Think has always retained the basic infrastructure and acquired considerable competence from its American owners.

During recent years, a wave of environmentalist conscience and climate change awareness has ripened the market for alternative mobility solutions. In 2006, Norwegian investors bought Think, and an experienced management team entered the scene. Both new and former staff members were added to the team, and a new strategy was outlined for the company. Further share issues during 2007 have prepared Think to go into regular serial production of the 5th generation TH!NK city. The car company of the 21st century is on the road.

“We are the car company of the 21st century. We develop zero emission vehicles and sustainable solutions and we are proud to be launching TH!NK city in new markets in 2008 and 2009, something that shows that the demand for sustainable solutions and zero emission vehicles is greater than ever before,” says Jan-Olaf Willums, CEO of Think Global.

Think has entered into collaboration with Porsche Consulting, to bring Porsche’s experience in lean manufacturing to the Think factory at Aurskog, Norway.

The goal is to enhance the flow of production in the factory, and to ensure that the cars are being produced more efficiently and with the highest quality standards. The Porsche factory is the most profitable factory in Europe.

The TH!NK city is the first production car, but an open version, the “TH!NK open” is probably not far behind the enclosed model. The marketing appears in many ways to be quite similar to that of Mercedes-owned smart, and like smart, a droptop model was an easy and logical next move.

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