Electric automaker Think Global AS has filed for bankruptcy protection in its home market, Norway, after failed attempts at recapitalization and restructuring. This is the fourth time that Think has collapsed financially in its 20-year history. Ener1, the New York City-based Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery producer that led a capital increase of
Think last year, said that it planned to take a charge on its earnings worth about $35 million relating to loans receivable from the company.
“We needed some additional funding and, although we had interested investors, they were not able to come to table quickly enough. The options for Think are either a liquidation of its assets or the sale of the company to a new investor,” Think spokesman James Andrews told Automotive News Europe.
Production of Think’s only vehicle, the tiny, battery-powered Think CityEV, ceased in March, at which time the company claimed it was rebalancing its inventory. Think sold 1,043 units of its City electric vehicle in 2010.
Think Global opened its Elkhart, Indiana, factory last year with hopes of producing 2,500 Think City EVs per year initially and employing 415 people by 2013.
Ford bought the company in 1999 in response to California’s mandate requiring carmakers to develop zero-emission vehicles and it was owned by the Detroit giant until January 2003. The Norwegian electric car maker almost died during the global financial crisis but the company found new investors and restarted production in late 2009.
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Cheryl Kaften is an accomplished communicator who has written for consumer and corporate audiences. She has worked extensively for MasterCard (News - Alert) Worldwide, Philip Morris USA (Altria), and KPMG, and has consulted for Estee Lauder and the Philadelphia Inquirer Newspapers. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.Edited by
Jennifer Russell
