In February 2008 a Norwegian company called Think launched the “City”, its latest creation, an electric car which it is hoped will be introduced to the US market in 2009.  

Jan-Olaf Willums is the CEO of Think Global and the driving force behind the company’s new electric car.

Think is using a light, resilient and 100% recyclable form of expanded polypropylene called Arpro. The car’s door and instrument panels are made of Arpro and laminated with fabric.

Think City is already on sale in Norway. The current price of $30 000 will be reduced to $18 000 – $20 000 in the USA provided the cars could be built there. The search is on for a manufacturing site in the USA.

The Think City has a top speed of around 65 miles per hour, a range of more than 120 miles in city driving, and a full array of safety features such as ABS and airbags. According to Jan-Olaf, CEO of Think Global, 95% of the City is recyclable. The body panels are colour-impregnated plastic which makes them tough and dent resistant, and also eliminates toxins that are released during the painting process.

The company plans to sell its cars almost entirely via the Internet. Customers will buy the car, but lease the batteries in a system Think refers to as its “Mobility Pack” at between $100 and $200 per month.  This pack would include the batteries, car insurance, carbon offsets and even Web service.The batteries would be replaced and recycled when the vehicle detects they’ve lost their optimum efficiency levels.

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