Think Global

Infobox Company
name = TH!NK Global

type = Private
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foundation = December 1991
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location_city = Aurskog
location_country = Norway
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Think Global is an electric car company located in Aurskog, Norway, manufacturing cars under the "TH!NK" brand. The TH!NK city is the world’s only crash-tested and highway-certified electric car [http://www.worldcarfans.com/9080723.008/new-thnk-city-ev-makes-uk-show-debut] .

History

The company was originally founded December 1991 in Oslo, as Pivco (for Personal Independent Vehicle Company). The first practical prototype, the "PIV2", like the vehicles that followed, were built around a chassis made of aluminium, carrying a body made of polyethylene thermoplastic that is rotomolded in one piece. 10 of 15 prototypes were built in time for the Lillehammer Olympic Winter Games in 1994. The battery technology was NiCd, driving a three-phase AC induction motor via the front wheels.

The PIV2 was followed by the PIV3, the "City Bee" ("Citi" in the US), introduced in 1995. 120 of these were produced, 40 of which participated in the "San Francisco Bay Area Station Car Demonstration" project from 1995 to 1998.

Based on the experiences from the prototypes, Pivco then went on to develop their first true production model, PIV4, later called the "TH!NK", with Lotus Cars in a consulting role. The basic construction concept from the prototypes was retained, except that the roof was made of ABS plastic, and the lower frame chassis elements were made of steel. The production model had a range of up to 85 km between charges, and a top speed of 90 km/h [Automotive Industries Feb. 1999, Gerry Kobe [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3012/is_2_179/ai_54051140] ] .

Development took more time and resources than anticipated, so when development of the production model was finished in 1999, finances had dried up. The company was then acquired by Ford, who could start production of the "TH!NK city". Ford even embraced the "TH!NK" concept, and marketed an electrically driven bicycle as well as a golf carts under the same brand.

Production ceased in 2002, after 1005 units had been made. Many of these cars participated in "station car" projects in California and in New York City.

Probably due to changes in the California zero-emissions vehicle policy, Ford gave up Think on January 31 2003. The company was sold to KamKorp Microelectronics of Switzerland, owned by Kamal Siddiqi. Development of a successor to the "City" was subsequently halted. The used cars from US and UK have been re-exported [greenpeace.org [http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/th-nk-again-ford-does-a-u-tur Th!nk Again: Ford Does a U-Turn] ] to Norway where they are in high demand due to the government's policy to promote the use of electrical cars (EVs are exempt from taxes, have free parking, pass toll roads for free, and are allowed to drive in the bus lanes avoiding traffic congestions).

In 2004, the company turned its attention to development of the "TH!NK public", a micro size electric bus to be rented to customers for inner city travel. By February 2006, prototypes of the vehicle had been developed, but the company went into receivership.

At the end of March 2006 Think Nordic was acquired by Norwegian investment group InSpire, which includes the original founder Jan Otto Ringdal as a partner. The company was renamed Think Global.

For the next year the Th!nk website showed a restyled "new TH!NK city" car which was under development. An open version of the car was also pictured but the company said it had no plans to put it into production.

In March 2007 a completely new website was posted, with many more images of the new car rendered into artist's impressions and various exterior/interior photographs. This site is presented in Norwegian and English.

The original English page reported: "We are currently in the process of preparing the new TH!NK city for production in the fall of 2007. The new TH!NK city has ABS brakes, dual airbags, and meets all European and US safety requirements. It has a range of 170 km (106 miles), a top speed of 100 km/h (62 mph) and has comfort and convenience features such as air conditioning, power steering, sun roof, electric windows and mirrors, and more".

In May 2007 Tesla Motors, maker of the electric Tesla Roadster super-car, announced an agreement to sell 43 million dollars worth of its Li-ion battery systems to Think Nordic for use in the next generation Think City [teslamotors.com [http://www.teslamotors.com/blog2/index.php Introducing Tesla Energy Group] ] [latimes.com [http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-battery22may22,1,4175937.story?coll=la-headlines-business&track=crosspromo Tesla to supply batteries for electric cars] ] , but on 2 Nov 2007 it of the deal. [greencarcongress.com [http://www.greencarcongress.com/2007/11/tesla-battery-s.html] ]

The Th!nk assembly line was restarted in late November 2007 to start manufacturing the re-designed City car. [www.think.no [http://www.think.no/think/Press-Pictures/Press-releases/Think-starts-production-of-its-new-electric-car-TH!NK-city-at-it-s-factory-in-Norway] ]

On March 5, 2008, General Electric Co., A123 Systems and Think Global announced that Think, GE and battery manufacturer A123 Systems had entered a partnership to enable global electrification of transportation. GE invested USD 4 million in Think and USD 20 million in A123 Systems to help A123 roll out batteries for Think. A123 Systems and Think at the same time signed a commercial supply agreement. The partnership was announced at the 78th annual international Motor Show in Geneva. [GE press release [http://www.ge.com/research/grc_7_1_33.html] ] [Think press release [http://www.think.no/think/Press-Pictures/Press-releases/Strategic-partnership-with-GE] ] [A123 Systems press release [http://www.a123systems.com/#/news/news111] ]

Also at the 2008 Geneva motor show, Think unveiled its future five-seater, 130 km/h concept car, the TH!NK O_x. [Think O_x [http://www.think.no/think/content/view/full/261] ]

On July 2008, TH!NK, introduced the Th!nk City for the first time in the UK [http://www.worldcarfans.com/9080723.008/new-thnk-city-ev-makes-uk-show-debut] .

As of August 2008, some 100 City cars have been manufactured for customers in Norway. [Green Wombat [http://greenwombat.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2008/08/12/ford-exec-jumps-to-think-global/] ]

Current and future models

TH!NK city

It is the world’s only crash-tested and highway-certified electric car The TH!NK city is a small two-seater or 2+2-seater highway capable electric car, with a top speed of mph|65 and an in-town range of mile|126 on a full charge [http://www.worldcarfans.com/9080723.008/new-thnk-city-ev-makes-uk-show-debut] . Think originally planned to start deliveries to Norwegian customers in the last quarter of 2007. That target was missed, but as of August 2008, about one hundred vehicles have been completed. [Green Wombat [http://greenwombat.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2008/08/12/ford-exec-jumps-to-think-global/] ]

A price list in Norwegian Kroner adds up to NOK 199,000 before optional features, which is approximately $32,500 US, or £16,600 UK, or €24,500. The battery pack will be leased rather than sold to purchasers. The fee will be NKR975 per month ($160, £81, EUR120). This price is valid only in Norway, prices will be substantially lower elsewhere as the Norwegian registration fee amounts to between 30 and 50 percent of the price of a new car. The registration fee does not apply to electric cars. [Dagbladet on Norwegian car taxation (in Norwegian) [http://www.dagbladet.no/dinside/2005/01/11/419932.html] ]

Think CEO Jan-Olaf Willums indicated that the City will sell in the US for $15,000 - $17,000, with a Mobility Fee of $100-$200 to lease the batteries that may also include Wireless and Car Insurance. [Business 2.0 Magazine [http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2007/08/01/100138830/index.htm] ]

At the 2008 Geneva motor show, Think announced that the TH!NK City will be launched in Denmark and Sweden in 2008, followed by launching in the UK, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands in 2009. [Think Geneva motor show press release [http://www.think.no/think/Press-Pictures/Press-releases/Norwegian-Design-to-Geneve] ]

At the 2008 British International Motor Show at ExCeL London, Think announced that the TH!NK city will be available to UK customers from the summer of 2009. [Think British International Motor Show press release [http://http://www.newspress.co.uk/DAILY_LINKS/arc_jul_2008/210708think.htm] ]

At the same time, the specifications of the TH!NK city were improved: "The two-seater urban car has a top speed of 110km/h. It accelerates from zero to 50km/h in just 6.5 seconds and to 80km/h in 16 seconds. It requires just an overnight top-up of electricity and can travel for 210km in city driving on a fully charged battery". [Car & SUV of New Zealand [http://www.carandsuv.co.nz/news/8125/th-nk-about-it-norwegian-company-releases-electric-vehicle] ]

TH!NK O_x

The TH!NK O_x is a concept five-seater electric car with a top speed of 130 km/h and a 100kW motor scheduled for delivery in 2011 or 2012.

The website [http://en.think.no/think/content/view/full/306] for the Think O_x currently lists the top speed as 135km/h (~84mi/h) and the range as 250km (~155mi).

TH!NK open

TH!NK open is a 3-door, 2-seat concept car, where the roof has been removed. Top speed is 100km/h and the next ranges (90 to 203 km):

* Range IEC (European standard for calculating range of electrical cars): 170km (summer tires, heater off)
* Range FUDS (American standard for calculating range of electrical cars): 180km (summer tires, heater off)
* Range FUDS winter (typical range in particularly cold conditions) : 90km /winter tires, constant 4 kW heater
* Range EU UDC (range during city driving only): 203km

ee also

Electric car

References

Further reading

*Dan Neil, [http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/highway1/la-hy-neil25-2008jun25,0,6115678.story The Think City: In Norway, They're building your first electric car] , "Los Angeles Times", June 25, 2008
* [http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=101846&topicId=103840033&docId=l:780159199 Kleiner and RockPort plans U.S. introduction year 2009] -- April 2008
* [http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Specials/Auto/Clean_Thnking_City_car/articleshow/msid-2341324,curpg-1.cms Clean Th!nk(ing) City car] , "Economic Times" (India), September 2007
* [http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2007/08/01/100138830/index.htm?postversion=2007073110 Biz 2.0 article] , August 8, 2007
* [http://news.com.com/2061-11128_3-6161125.html Think plans] , News.com, February 2007
* [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3012/is_2_179/ai_54051140 Article in "Automotive Industries"] February 1999
*no icon [http://www.step.no/Projectarea/Thesises/ThinkThesis.pdf Think case study] , October 2001
* [http://www.evworld.com/view.cfm?section=communique&newsid=11368&url= Electric Carmaker Th!nk Taken Over by Norwegian Investor Group] March 2006
* [http://www.foundation.no/index.php/content/download/235/1101/file/060809%20New%20TH!NK%20city%20(A306).ppt New Think presentation] August 2006

External links

* [http://en.think.no/ en.think.no -- company website]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/19981205142233/http%3a//home.sol.no/~pivco/ Historic web site] c/o the Wayback Machine