On the Ropes, Plucky Think Global Pushes U.S. Expansion

(MoneyWatch)  Think Global, Norway's plucky electric vehicle (EV) maker, is thinking big. Despite entering what design chief Katinka von der Lippe calls a "court protection program" and operating on a bridge loan from its battery company and other suppliers, the company is pushing forward with ambitious plans to expand into the U.S.

Think is in discussions with eight states, including Michigan, about opening a factory, and to fund that effort it's applying for a low-interest loan from the U.S. Department of Energy's $25 billion Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing program. The plan, which obviously depends on a lot of things going right, is to build 2,500 cars for pilot and demonstration fleets beginning in 2010.

Norway-based CEO Richard Canny, in the U.S. this week for talks and to give journalists rides in his Think City EV, declined to say how much money the company is requesting from the federal fund, which so far has not issued any loans. "We haven't finalized the amount," he said. "But it's pretty substantial for us." Two of Think's U.S. battery suppliers, Ener1 (also a supplier of the bridge loan) and A123 have also asked for federal funds.

There's no question that Think actually has a viable electric car. The Think City, with recyclable plastic body panels, has a 112-mile cruising range in optimum form and is based on a vehicle that benefited from millions in R&D investment from former owner Ford.

With the production line shut down because of the financial situation, Think is continuing to assemble cars with the parts it has on hand. von der Lippe says some 160 cars have gone out the door--to Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands as well as Norway--since the court protection filing last December. Approximately 60 will be assembled this month.

Think's EV would be eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit. Canny told reporters in Ann Arbor, Michigan that Think also hopes to tap into state-offered incentives in the U.S. The biggest obstacle to an affordable EV today is battery costs, Canny said, but he added that those costs are falling an average of 10 percent a year.

Here's an impressionistic video look inside the Think City: