Electric carmaker Think and Itochu Corporation have announced they are to expand their partnership to market and produce the Think city car in Asia.
The Norwegian firm and the Japanese commercial giant have collaborated since 2009 through a number of market demonstration projects designed to prove the function of electric vehicle, in association with Think’s lithium battery partner Ener1.
One such project in Japan involves Family Mart – the chain of convenience stores in which Itochu is a major share-holder, and Mazda Cars – one of many car companies in which Itochu has a minority equity stake. Using the Ener1 battery and Think drive-train technology, a fleet of Mazda 2 vehicles was electrified for trial in the project in under three months.
The Japanese company which operates in a wide number of markets from exporting and importing goods to overseas trading has taken a stake in the electric car producer to formalise their agreement.
As part of the agreement, Itochu has acquired the rights to sell EVs and drive systems designed and manufactured by THINK in Japan and other Asian markets.
“The partnership was already in place informally, as seen in the success we have had in ventures such as the Tsukuba Green Crossover Town sustainability project in association with Mazda,” said Masahiro Okafuji, Itochu Corporation President and CEO.
The latest generation Think City is a purpose-built, all-electric car designed for urban environments. It can travel at highway speeds and cover 160 kilometres on a single charge (via conventional household outlet), with zero local emissions. It is the world’s first EV to be granted certification with the European CE conformity mark and EU homologation requirements (M1 certificate).
European production of the Think City continues in Finland with manufacturing partner Valmet Automotive, which also assembles the Boxster and Cayman models for Porsche AG. Customer deliveries are taking place across Europe in selected key EV markets such as The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Austria and Switzerland.
THINK has also announced plans to establish a US production facility during 2011 in Elkhart County, Indiana, and is developing operations in Asia. The firm plans to attain global annual sales of 22,000 electric vehicles by 2012.
