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Alternative Energy - Friday, February 23, 2007

Cute Electric Car Maker TH!NK GLOBAL Raises $25M

Norwegian electric care maker TH!NK GLOBAL got commitments for $50M in funding and accepted $25M, reports CNET. The company says that later in the spring it will try to raise an additional $50M.

TH!NK GLOBAL was formerly part of the Ford Motor Company which invested $50M in R&D before punting it. TH!NK was taken over by a group of Norwegian investors in March 2006. The company has a fairly long history but now with the growing interest in low fuel use and low emissions, the company is getting its legs. TH!NK began its life in the mid 1990s, developed by a Norwegian company named PIVCO (for Personal Independent Vehicle Company). PIVCO's third-generation vehicle, launched in 1995, was named CityBee in Europe and Citi in USA. In 1996, 120 CityBees/Citi's were built, with over a third shipped to California to participate the Bay Area Rapid Transit station car program.

We still don't know how much one of these little cars is going to cost. It doesn't matter really as they won't be available in the US until 2008. Interestingly, when you buy a car you will lease the battery. That way when and if it fails, they will send you a new battery. We could see buying one of these as your kids' first car. It will go as fast as 65 mph but will only go 130 miles or so before it needs 7 hours of battery recharge.

Read - Electric economy car rolls off line; company gets $25 million (CNET)