Think City EV – Click above for high-res image gallery
With two small recalls in recent months and a long history of financial trouble, it probably shouldn't surprise us that the Norwegian electric car company Think is in trouble again. A year after Norwegian electric automaker Think secured substantial investments, it's reportedly facing financial issues again, writes the Norwegian business newspaper, Finansavisen. Production of the electric Think has apparently been halted at Valmet Automotive in Finland and 35 employees were let go over the last couple of weeks. James Andrew of Think Europe says that, "It is true that production is temporarily halted," but claims that the stoppage is due to "imbalances in the sharing" of Valmet Automotive's production capacity. A U.S. spokesperson told AutoblogGreen (read the full statement after the jump):
The Finansavisen says that a shortage in parts for the Think City is only half the problem. The Norwegian newspaper claims that the automaker's funds are running dry. Luis Salem, Think's vice president of global marketing, responded to the paper's claims, stating, "With regard to the economic situation we are in a startup phase, and we are always looking for new financial sources." With competition in the plug-in vehicle segment heating up, 2011 sales of the Think City have reportedly reached only 60 units in Norway.We have asked Valmet to temporarily stop production in Finland, while we rebalance our parts inventory in Europe. The stoppage in Finland has had little effect on our U.S. business. We have continued to receive gliders from Finland, and are continuing to ship vehicles to customers.
[Source: E24 Bil via Google Translate]
Our business in Europe and the U.S. remains strong. We are continuing to sell and ship vehicles to customers in both Europe and the U.S. In fact, consumer interest in THINK has significantly increased in the last couple of weeks, and we look forward to addressing this demand with a new U.S. consumer-facing web portal that will be launching shortly. We are also seeing a lot of interest from fleets in the THINK City – partially due to our participation in the GE EV Experience Tour earlier this year.
We have recently received a commitment from Project Plug-IN in Indianapolis to offer a $9,000 rebate in the THINK City in Indiana, which combined with our new, lower MSRP makes the net cost of the car $19,995.00 to most customers in Indiana.
We have asked Valmet to temporarily stop production in Finland, while we rebalance our parts inventory in Europe. The stoppage in Finland has had little effect on our U.S. business. We have continued to receive gliders from Finland, and are continuing to ship vehicles to customers.
We have recently received a commitment from Project Plug-IN in Indianapolis to offer a $9,000 rebate in the THINK City in Indiana, which combined with our new, lower MSRP makes the net cost of the car $19,995.00 to most customers in Indiana.
We have asked Valmet to temporarily stop production in Finland, while we rebalance our parts inventory in Europe. The stoppage in Finland has had little effect on our U.S. business. We have continued to receive gliders from Finland, and are continuing to ship vehicles to customers.
