Think to Resume Production of City EV

Following its emergence from bankruptcy, Norwegian EV-manufacturer Think Nordic announced it was ready to resume production of its City microcar.

Production of Think’s electric minicar will resume in December and the Norwegian firm hopes to have 4,600 units of the two-seat City built in 2010, sales director Richard Waitz said.

According to Think, nearly 2300 orders for the minicar have been placed. Although most are destined for government fleets across Europe, the figure does include orders placed by private consumers.

Think stopped production at its plant in Aurskog, near Oslo, in the second quarter. The plant produced 350 units of the City between summer 2008 and its shut down. The carmaker had aimed to build 7,000 to 10,000 units a year at the plant by 2009. About 85 workers have been affected by the end of production in Norway, which will remain Think’s headquarters and home to the company’s research and design center.

Valmet Automotive, a contract manufacturer based in Finland, will build the City for Think. Valmet has been contracted by Porsche to make its Boxter and Cayman at its Uusikaupunki plant in Finland. City production is to commence in December; the company plans to have 4600 examples built by the end of next year.

U.S.-based EnerDel supplies the City with its lithium-ion battery pack. EnerDel’s parent company, Ener1 Inc, holds a 31-percent stake in the electric car company.

Think CEO Richard Canny has been with the Norwegian electric car company for just over a year. Canny has 25 years’ experience, having recently defected from Ford. Think was owned and controlled by Ford between 1999 and 2002.

Source: Automotive News / Rumors.automobilemag.com