New York chosen for first wave of THINK electric vehicles

Norwegian EV company THINK has chosen New York as the first port of call in its push to capture a slice of the electric-vehicle market in the United States. The 100 mile range THINK City Electric Car will be rolled-out in New York and "other select cities" later this year with plans to begin manufacturing the THINK City in Elkhart, Indiana from early 2011.

The THINK City is a 3-door hatch, all-electric car capable of "highway speeds" (which translates to around 70 mph). It produces zero local emissions, can travel 106 miles (170 km) on a single charge - as long as you're not using the 4 kW electric heater - and includes regenerative braking and ABS as standard equipment. The car's lithium-ion battery pack achieves a full charge from a 230 V connection in around 10 hours. See our previous coverage of the THINK City for more detailed specs.

Manufactured at the Valmet Automotive plant Uusikaupunki, Finland (which also assembles the Porsche Boxster and Cayman), the THINK City is being distributed in European markets including Denmark, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and more recently, Austria.

Why New York?

Taking into account government incentives as well as urban layout, THINK developed an EV-Ready Cities Index to measure which markets are most suited to the introduction of electric vehicles. New York was tied with Chicago in the EV Ready-City Index released by THINK in January.

"New York is a logical early market for the THINK City in the U.S.," said THINK CEO Richard Canny. "New York ranked third on our EV-Ready Cities Index based on the great fit of EVs for city driving and the strength of state and local government support."

The lithium-ion battery system is also local - made by New York's Ener1, Inc.

The THINK City is on show at the EV Pavilion at the New York International Auto Show at the Javits Center until April 11.

Via THINK.

Ed's note: a nod should go to the copywriters at THINK who describe the car as having "zero local emissions." We read many electric vehicle press releases at Gizmag, and often the word "local" gets cast aside in the quest for feel-good spin.