The first battery-electric car (as opposed to quadricycle), the new Norwegian-built TH!NK, will go on sale in the UK in the fourth quarter of this year, its importer has announced.
The two-seater TH!NK city is said to boast an energy efficiency three times that of a traditional combustion engine car. It has a top speed of 65 mph, accelerates from 0-30 mph in 6.5 seconds and to 50 mph in 16 seconds. Its range is 124 miles in city driving on a battery fully charged overnight. A full charge from a domestic electricity socket takes ten hours. Over 10,000 miles use, the total cost of electricity used to power a TH!NK city will be in the region of £125, says the importer, Think UK.
The car is equipped with ABS brakes, airbags and three-point safety belts with pre-tensioners and it meets all European and US type approval requirements.
TH!NK citys body is made of recyclable, unpainted ABS plastic. Batteries are returned to the supplier at the end of their useable life. Standard equipment on each TH!NK city includes power steering, central locking, a 4kW electric heater, and electric windows and mirrors.
Optional equipment will include air conditioning, a pre-heat timer, electrically heated windscreen, full length sunroof, Radio CD with MP3, USB, Bluetooth, a navigation & multimedia system, alloy wheels, roof rack and 2 + 2 children seats (including 3-point seat belts)
Production started last autumn, and the first batch of cars will be delivered to Norwegian customers this spring with orders for UK cars being taken in the last quarter of this year. The expected retail price of TH!NK city is £14,000. The importer has not announced the appointment of franchised distributors.
The first prototype predecessor to todays TH!NK city was developed in 1991, and was put in serial production in 1999, supported by Ford, which invested $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. In 2006, Norwegian investors bought Think. Further share issues during 2007 financed the start of serial production of the 5th generation car.
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