Norwegian electric car manufacturer Think announced yesterday in Ann Arbor, Michigan, that it is planning to open a factory in the United States to supply North America with up to 60,000 small city cars per year. The automaker says it is talking to eight states about the assembly plant, which would initially employ about 300 workers with a starting capacity of 16,000 TH!NK City vehicles.
“The U.S. is quickly overtaking Europe as an attractive market for EVs and is an ideal location to engineer and build EVs,” Think CEO Richard Canny said in a statement released to the media.
“We see ourselves playing a small but potentially growing role in re-inventing the U.S. auto industry by bringing back new manufacturing jobs to the U.S. to replace internal combustion engine vehicles that are expensive to operate and maintain with clean, efficient electric vehicles.”
The automaker, which was owned by Ford until 2003, intends to launch its City in the United States in 2010 with fleet customers and pilot projects before moving on to full retail sales in 2011.
Site selections will be whittled down to one or two states by March 31, but it’s expected that Michigan, with its strong manufacturing base and low cost of business, is the likely location, especially given Canny’s announcement took place in Ann Arbor.
Think says it is hoping to use part of the $25 billion the Department of Energy has allocated to automotive retooling and advanced technology programs. The company didn’t say how much of the $25 billion it wants, but it did say that its North American program depends on the U.S. government’s willingness to help.
The automaker has not been without its difficulties overseas. In December, it went into Norway’s version of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after just two months of building the City. Canny says that he expects the Norwegian assembly plant, which halted production in December, to be back up and running in May.
The TH!NK City is a little larger than a Smart fortwo, but it can seat up to four people. In European configuration, it has a top speed of 62 mph and a 112-mile range. The automaker intends to offer the City in the U.S. for under $20,000 with a $90 monthly lease for its batteries.
