TH!NK THINKS MICHIGAN

Michigan in the running for Think's electric-car plant
Alisa Priddle, March 12, 2009 (Detroit News)

"Michigan is one of at least eight states in the running for a plant to build electric-carmaker Th!nk's diminutive City car, the Norwegian company announced…

"The carmaker also announced its plans to expand sales of its City car to the U.S. in 2010. Th!nk will launch its expansion with fleet customers and pilot projects next year and add retail sales in 2011."

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"The automaker plans to whittle the site selection for its U.S. plant to one or two states by March 31. The plant would employ 300 workers initially and 70 more at a technical center…

"The plastic-bodied [all-electric] Think City is a two-seater about the size of the Smart, with an optional back seat [with a top speed of about 62 mph, a range to 112 miles and its batteries need several hours to recharge]…It has three battery suppliers: MES-DEA, A123 Systems and EnerDel."

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"Originally, Th!nk wanted to start selling the City in North America this year, but financial travails have prompted the company to shut down production in December…

"Th!nk began life in 1991 as a Norwegian company…Ford Motor Co. bought the company in 1999 and…started work on…the Think City, which was to launch in 2002. But the market for electric vehicles was small and a California mandate for electric vehicles was amended, prompting Ford to sell Th!nk to a Swiss maker of microelectronics instead…Th!nk went bankrupt in 2006 and a group of investors, led by a Norwegian venture capitalist, bought it…"