REPORT: Think gets tax abatement deal for manufacturing facility in Elkhart County, Indiana

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Think still hasn't issued an official statement saying where their new plant will be located, but news out of Indiana makes it sound like Elkhart County will one day be building the City electric vehicle. This isn't exactly a surprise, since we've heard a similar report before and Think investor and battery supplier Ener1 is based in Indianapolis.

According to multiple reports, Think was awarded a a 10-year tax abatement by the Elkhart County Council, which could be used to open a manufacturing facility in a building once used by Patriot Homes. Think would invest $24.7 million in the plant through 2013 and hire 415 workers. The abatement is worth $500,000 over ten years. All that Think would tell the Indianapolis Business Journal is that, "I think we are further along with Indiana than we are with other states."

Now that the county has given its approval, the state and federal governments might step in and then we should finally hear officially one way or the other where Think's U.S. manufacturing home will be. There are already two other electric drive manufacturing companies interested in the Elkhart area: Navistar International Corp. will build all-electric delivery trucks there next year and a startup called Electric Motors Corp. wants to build hybrid drivetrains there.