EnerDel ramping up battery production to supply Th!nk

Click above for more shots of the Th!nk Ox and City

Th!nk Global recently hired a new President and COO named Richard Canny who had previously been Ford's Worldwide Director of Strategic Planning (details in the Th!nk release after the break). It didn't take too long for Canny to announce that EnerDel would be ramping up its supply of lithium ion batteries for the Norwegian electric automaker. Th!nk has ordered $70 million worth of battery packs from EnerDel, which equates to about 5,000 units. Each pack contains about 27 kWh of power.

Th!nk's current plans call for an electric car to be made in the U.S. for less than $25K. Yeah, we are suitably excited by that prospect. EnerDel is just one of three companies vying for the right to supply the batteries for the new Th!nk cars, though its chances look fairly decent, not least because the company has gotten tax breaks from the City of Indianapolis to expand there and hire 850 new workers.

[Sources: Th!nk, EnerDel, The Indy Star]

Press Release:
World-class automotive executive team joins Norwegian electric car producer Think

Norwegian electric vehicle manufacturer Think Global has appointed Ford Motor Company executive Richard Canny as its President and Chief Operating Officer. Think's leadership team is also further strengthened by two Swedish automotive veterans, Mikael Ekholm, and Arne Degermosse.

The appointment of the Australian born Canny will help Think accelerate its growth plans and compete globally in the rapidly emerging electric vehicle market.

Think CEO Jan-Olaf Willums said "Richard brings twenty five years of global automotive experience to Think which will help us greatly in growing the company quickly and increasing our international presence. His extensive background at Ford in both strategy and operations will be ideal to help guide Think as we grow. Together with the two new Swedish automotive managers, the new team has together 66 years of experience working in Ford, Volvo, Saab and VW, Think is well placed as we move to larger volume production".

Canny was most recently Worldwide Director of Strategic Planning at Ford Motor Company, and has a rich global automotive management experience, including Managing Director of Ford Malaysia, President of Ford Argentina, and President of Ford South America – a multi-billion dollar revenue operation with more than 10,000 employees in 4 countries.

Discussing his role at Think, Canny expressed his optimistic view on the future of electric vehicles, saying "the electrification of the automobile industry has reached a tipping point. Think is perfectly positioned to capitalize on this trend and is the leader in this rapidly growing industry sector. My view is that Think is where the future of the automotive industry will be".

Mikael Ekholm, who has many years experience in managing manufacturing operations with both Volvo and Saab, is appointed Executive Vice President, Engineering and Manufacturing. Arne Degermoose, a veteran Saab and VW launch manager, was recently appointed to run Think's assembly plant in Aurskog, outside Oslo.

Think Chairman Alf Bjoerseth commented on the new appointments saying "This is an important step forward in growing the company. Think is today the first fully homologated large-scale electric vehicle producer in the world. I am confident that with the strong new leadership team and its rich automotive experience, Think will maintain its global leadership in electric vehicles.

Think is presently scaling up production of the fully-electric Th!nk City for the Scandinavian markets, and is planning to expand sales operations to other European markets and the United States in the near future.