Think City

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Think
Think City
Think City
City
Production period: 2007-2011
Class : Microcar
Body versions : Station wagon
Engines: Electric motor :
30 kW
Length: 3120 mm
Width: 1604 mm
Height: 1548 mm
Wheelbase : 1970 mm
Empty weight : 1113 kg
Previous model A266
The Pivco-PIV 3 from Pivco Industries

The Think City is an electric car manufactured by the Norwegian company Think Global from 2007 to 2011 .

History of the company

Pivco Industries and purchase by Ford

In 1999, Ford acquired a majority stake in the small Norwegian vehicle manufacturer Pivco Industries and renamed the company Think Nordic AS , adding its electric car development in the form of the then current PIV 4 model - under the new name Think City (A266) - to its own portfolio to be able to record. The background to this was a statutory ordinance by the California Air Resources Board , an environmental authority in California ( USA ), which required the automotive industry to gradually increase its vehicles to produce at least 10% of their vehicles without emissions by 2005. A legal action was brought against this regulation in 2001.

After the implementation of this regulation was prohibited by a decision of the court of the state of California in June 2002, the resulting subsidiary Think Nordic AS, which was also flanked by Ford with the business divisions Think Technology and Think Mobility, became the Think Group sold again in February 2003, although shortly before the entire production facility had been converted to the successor model (A306). As a reason for the sale, Ford stated that the sale of the Think City electric cars had not turned out to be as successful as those responsible had hoped, and that environmentally friendly alternatives such as the hybrid car had now been developed to market maturity. In addition, one would have hoped for more political initiative that supports the market for electric cars. In the two and a half years (November 1999 to March 2002) Ford produced 1005 A266 vehicles, which were sold in 14 countries. From the point of view of a major automotive company - like Ford - the sales figures were not so satisfactory that after the change in the real legal situation in California, they would have been ready to continue to get involved in the market segment for electric cars.

Ford stops the electric car program and sells it to KamKorp

Although it z. B. in the USA there were still long waiting lists for potential buyers, 440 of them - for which the leasing contract with Ford had expired - should fall victim to scrapping. Only a few interested buyers, and not least Greenpeace , helped the 440 cars to continue to be used.

Due to the termination of the production of Think City by Ford in August 2002, the future of Think Nordic was uncertain for a long time and further development or even renewed mass production was very unlikely.

Only after KamKorp Microelectronics Inc (Switzerland) bought the company in February 2003 did things move forward again. Just one year later, in March 2004, the jointly developed Think Public prototype was presented to the public.

Economic difficulties, realignment and renovation

The business concept for the Microbus Think Public envisaged that it should be rented by customers for the purpose of inner-city transport. But implementation was lacking. As a result, the company got into financial difficulties at the end of 2005 / beginning of 2006 ( bankruptcy around February 2006). As a result, at the end of March 2006, Think Nordic was sold to the Norwegian investor group InSpire , which renamed the company Think Global and, apart from the restructuring , prescribed a different orientation and product policy : its stated goal was to make Think Global a pure electric vehicle manufacturer to make, which has a number of models in the form of a product range on the market that meets different user needs.

From November 2007, Think Global AS produced an improved model of the Think City, which was additionally equipped with ABS , air conditioning , electric windows , airbags , power steering and a sunroof . However, the equipment with an optional telematics unit (RAC - Remote Access Control), which enabled the car to be used as a car sharing vehicle ex works, was groundbreaking. Cars with this option have a button labeled "Assist" on the center console. If you pressed this button longer, you were connected to a call center, similar to what GM Onstar or other providers also offer.

In March 2008, Think Global reached an agreement to cooperate with the lithium-ion battery manufacturer and General Electric subsidiary A123 Systems . General Electric invested an additional four million US dollars in Think Global and a further 20 million US dollars in A123 Systems to increase production capacity at the subsidiary and thus enable it to deliver the required lithium-ion batteries to Think can.

Contrary to the spirit of the March agreement, Think Global successfully tested three lithium-ion battery packs from EnerDel - a competitor of A123 Systems - on test vehicles near Indianapolis, at a pre-planned Think production site in June of the same year .

Despite the visible progress that the company made, combined with the goal of increasing the number of units well over 2500 per year, Think Global ran into a financial bottleneck in mid-December 2008, so that Think boss Richard Canny announced that the company needed for his short-term Financial operations urgently converted between 14.5 and 29 million US dollars in loan guarantees from the Norwegian government, otherwise production would have to be stopped and only continued in the following year and up to 70 percent of the workforce laid off. The aim was to secure credit lines that had to be approved by the banks. An intervention by Charles Gassenheimer, the head of the battery supplier EnerDel, ensured the granting of a loan guarantee of 40 million Norwegian kroner (5.69 million US dollars) in January 2009 so that short-term liquidity was guaranteed.

Finally, at the end of August 2009, a recapitalization of the company by existing and new investors was reported: after that, the US battery manufacturer Ener1 (Fort Lauderdale, Florida), parent company of EnerDel , acquired a 31 percent stake in Think Global; also occurred Rockport Capital Partners (Boston, Massachusetts), Element Partners (Philadelphia) and Kleiner Perkins (Palo Alto, California) added, further Valmet Automotive , headquartered in Finland and Investinor , a supported by the Norwegian government investment funds. For Valmet Automotive's minority stake in Think Global and the agreed technical cooperation between the two companies, Valmet received permission to build Think City in Finland. But not only that: this step was accompanied by the outsourcing of the vehicle assembly located in Norway to Finland. In fact, production of the Think City vehicles started in December 2009 at Valmet in Uusikaupunki / Finland.

In return for Ener1's entry into Think Global, EnerDel received long-term exclusive rights to supply Think with batteries to equip its current and upcoming models. These exclusive rights probably only concerned the vehicles that Think Global intended to produce in the USA, because Think announced at a later date, namely on January 25, 2010, that EnerDel would from then on be responsible for delivering all of them in the USA and 60 percent of the vehicles produced in Europe would be charged with batteries. This means that A123 Systems supplies Think Global with part of the remaining 40 percent of the batteries for vehicles in Europe and thus the relationship between Think Global and A123 Systems has not simply been dissolved, but has been continued as agreed, since A123 Systems and EnerDel had already been established beforehand Think Global have supplied batteries and accordingly there has been a certain continuity in the business relationships between the three companies.

In 2010, Think Global opened a new vehicle plant in Elkhart, Indiana, USA. The first vehicles produced there were delivered in mid-December 2010.

In March 2011, Valmet Automotive suspended its production of the Think City EV in Finland until further notice. Think in Norway also indicated that demand for the City model was extremely subdued at the beginning of the year. This brought Think Global into financial difficulties again, as with such a decision the entire European production of Think Global actually came to a standstill.

In May 2011 Ener1 wrote off its million dollar investment in the troubled Norwegian electric car manufacturer Think Global and returned all shares in Think Holding.

Bankruptcy and subsequent takeover by the Russian investor Zingarewitsch

On June 22, 2011, a trustee of the Norwegian insolvency management company Thommessen took control of Think Global AS after the company went bankrupt. The Norwegian financial and business newspaper Dagens Næringsliv reported in its July 19, 2011 edition that the Norwegian car maker Think Global AS has been sold to the Russian businessman Boris Zingarewitsch . The decision about this was made after a trustee appointed by the court had named Zingarewitsch the winner of the bidding round . Zingarewitsch directs its investment operations from Saint Petersburg, Russia , and is also a shareholder in the battery supplier Ener1. Think Global AS's liabilities to Ener1 are said to have recently amounted to around 450 to 500 million Norwegian kroner. The business transactions are believed to have been completed by July 20, 2011. The areas Think North America and Think UK were included in the business. Zingarewitsch had agreed a "Memorandum of Understanding" with Ener1 and Valmet Automotive , according to which the latter will cooperate with the two companies in order to get the Norwegian car maker Think back on track. On January 26, 2012, Think Global's battery supplier, Ener1, went bankrupt. The company survived bankruptcy but underwent a major restructuring: trading in Ener1 shares on the New York Stock Exchange ceased in late March 2012 when the company was converted from public to private. Anyone who still owned shares in Ener1 at the time of bankruptcy received $ 0.03 each, i.e. H. as good as nothing. With private equity funds from Zingarevich's Z1 Investment Group (based in Moscow), Ener1's company property was bought out. With this procedure Zingarewitsch got full control over Ener1; the company is now in the hands of the Z1 Investment Group, which it controls more or less.

In the vehicle factory in Elkhart, production was more or less stopped; the bodyshells remaining from production were finally assembled by two fitters after vehicle production was discontinued.

What will become of Think Global's activities in Norway and Finland is unclear. According to the Z1 Investment Group , Think is working on an e-bike.

Model history

Model A266 Ford Think (November 11, 1999 to March 22, 2002)

Ford Think in the Autovision Museum

The two-seater is powered by 19 water-cooled nickel-cadmium batteries and has a range of approx. 85 kilometers and a top speed of 100 km / h. The Ford Think weighs approx. 940 kg. The substructure is made of steel, while the body is made of a thermoplastic material .

The batteries are charged to 80% after approx. 5 hours on a 230 volt socket, they are fully charged after approx. 8 hours.

Ford has stopped production of this vehicle model.

Model A306

The only model currently available is the Think City. The microcar is designed as a city vehicle. It is usually a two-seater, but an additional bench seat for children can be installed in the trunk. The model is equipped with ABS , electric windows , electric exterior mirrors, central locking , and from model year 2011 also with air conditioning and ESP .

To implement the drive , a 30 kW electric motor with 90 Nm (operating power: 17 kW, input voltage: 188–407 V, output voltage: 14.5 V, current: 0–100 A) was used until August 2010 (1st generation of the electrical converter, Power Conversion Unit (PCU)).

Sodium-nickel chloride battery, Autovision Museum , Altlußheim

With a maximum range of 160 km (approx. 125 km at 100 km / h, the maximum speed), it outperforms previous electric vehicles by about twice. A sodium-nickel chloride battery, also known as a zebra battery , is used for this. This has a working temperature of 270 ° Celsius and an energy density of approx. 94 Wh / kg-120 Wh / kg in practice. (Theoretically, up to 150 Wh / kg would be possible.)

Critics doubted the durability of the Zebra battery , although this type of battery has been further developed over the years and a. is also used in military applications (torpedoes, submarines). The Think City pricing model originally addressed this by selling the vehicle, but renting the battery. So the risk would have remained with the manufacturer. The manufacturer seems to be sure of his cause, however, because their usability has already been proven to a high degree. Dr. Cord-Henrich Dustmann, former head of Zebra activities at MES-DEA , reported in a lecture in June 2004 regarding the service life of a test battery that a battery has been in operation for eleven years and has gone through over 3000 charging cycles. MES-DEA gives a 5-year guarantee on the Zebra traction battery in the Think City, built from 2010 onwards. The software of these vehicles has reduced the capacity so that the range has been reduced from 180 to 160 km. However, it has not yet been widely used because the type of battery is almost unknown, although it was originally intended to be used in the Mercedes A-Class. The Zebra traction battery was developed by AEG, a Daimler subsidiary at the time. In August 2010, five Think City with ZEBRA batteries took part in the e-Miglia 2010, the first international electric car rally across the Alps, and were able to convince many doubters.

Meanwhile, the company Think Global AS also offers a lithium-ion traction battery with the same range but smaller dimensions as an alternative to the Zebra traction battery , as this type of traction battery has a slightly higher energy density and does not have to be constantly heated. However, lithium-ion batteries are temperature-dependent in terms of their performance, which can lead to a loss of range in cold ambient temperatures (compared to normal or warm temperatures).

The Bosch service companies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland have entered the service business for electric vehicles. Bosch Car Service (BCS) will carry out all maintenance and repair work for "Think City" electric vehicles on behalf of the importer and electric car car sharing provider Move About (Bremen), Bosch announced in December 2010.

In Switzerland, selected Bosch Car Service companies are service partners of the importer M-Way and thus offer a nationwide service network.

The Think City control units have been included in the electronic diagnostic systems for workshops, so that a comprehensive network of workshops is now available for electric cars. This collaboration between Move About and Bosch arose in the German electromobility projects of the economic stimulus package II, as the Think City is used in several model regions (BMVBS) and model projects (BMWi).

Technical details
Top speed 100 km / h
Range 180 km
Loading time 10 hours

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Think vehicles  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ L. Wells Bedsworth, MR Taylor: Learning from California's Zero Emission Vehicle Program. California Economic Policy Vol. 3, H. 4 (September 2007), p. 5, left column (in English) (PDF; 553 kB)
  2. ↑ Battery electric vehicles California Energy Commission, Consumer Energy Center, (in English)
  3. ↑ Nina Berglund: Ford blasted for crushing 'Think' cars Aftenposten, August 24, 2004 (in English)
  4. ^ Daniel Englander: TH! NK tests battery, but where's A123? greentechmedia Internet portal, June 10, 2008 (in English)
  5. ↑ Electric carmaker suddenly in trouble New York Times - Wheels Blog, 17 December 2008 (in English)
  6. ↑ David Herron: The dance between Fisker, Think, Enerdel, and A123Systems examiner.com Internet portal, January 18, 2010 (in English)
  7. ↑ Candace Lombardi: Think City EV promises 80 percent charge in 15 min. cnet News, January 27, 2010 (in English)
  8. ↑ Viknesh Vijayenthiran: Think electric minicar begins production in Indiana Fox News, December 16, 2010 (in English)
  9. ↑ Eric Loveday: Report: Think facing financial diffuclties; Valmet halts production of City EV AutoblogGreen web portal, April 15, 2011 (in English)
  10. ↑ Eric Rosenbaum: Green Energy Losers: Ener1 Posts Wide Loss www.thestreet.com Internet portal, May 11, 2011 (in English)
  11. ↑ Douglas A. Bolduc: Norwegian EV maker Think files for bankruptcy Automotive News Europe online, June 22, 2011 (in English)
  12. ↑ Marc Kudling: Think is facing bankruptcy again and files for bankruptcy ( Memento of the original from June 27, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. watt gehtab Internet portal, June 23, 2011 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.watt gehtab.com
  13. ↑ Agnete M. Klevstrand, Marte Iren Kristiansen: Think blir russisk ( Memento of the original from July 25, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Dagens Næringsliv online, July 19, 2011 (in Norwegian) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.dn.no
  14. ↑ Jeremy Heighway: Electric car manufacturer THINK ™ presses reset for a new beginning by Russian investor ( memento of the original from 23 August 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. www.watt gehtab.com Internet portal, July 26, 2011 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.watt gehtab.com
  15. ↑ Michelle Koueiter: Car News: Russian tech entrepreneur buys EV maker Think Autoweek online, July 25, 2011 (in English)
  16. ↑ a b Boris Zingarevich Buys THINK Global electriccarsreport.com Internet portal, July 25, 2011 (in English)
  17. ↑ a b Thomas Witsø-Bjølmer: Boris har overtatt Think: Think he blitt - hold deg fast - russisk! www.na24.no Internet portal, July 19, 2011 (in Norwegian)
  18. ↑ Electric Vehicle Maker THINK ™ Resets for a New Start  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. www.abc12.com Internet portal, July 25, 2011 (in English)@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.abc12.com  
  19. ↑ Zingarevich to spend over $ 50 mln saving Ener1 from bankruptcy. Interfax online, March 6, 2012 (English)
  20. ↑ a b Kathleen McLaughlin: Russian investor gives Ener1 fresh start. Indianapolis Business Journal online, April 7, 2012 (English)
  21. ↑ a b Julie Wernau: Focus: Tech bet sours for Elkhart, Ind., As electric carmaker Think, battery firm Ener1 fall into bankruptcy. Chicago Tribune online, February 1, 2012
  22. ↑ Daimler-Benz, December 1997: The A-Class Electric Vehicle, Powered by ZEBRA Battery System (PDF; 3.7 MB), accessed October 22, 2013
  1. Tod Woody: Have you driven a Fjord lately? CNN Money, July 31, 2007
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