THINK Moving into Asian Market with IOCHU Partnership
THINK and ITOCHU Corp. now have an expanded partnership for marketing and distribution of the THINK City electric vehicle and EV drive system in Asia. The two companies have been in a cooperative relationship since 2009, through a number of market-leading demonstration projects in association with THINK’s lithium-ion battery partner, Ener1, Inc.
These projects have served as valuable test-beds to validate how battery, vehicle and grid technology function together in real-world environments. 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. Following the success of these projects, ITOCHU has taken a stake in THINK.
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 kilometers 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). To achieve these exacting standards, the THINK City has successfully completed very thorough testing and validation procedures.
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 U.S. production facility during 2011 in Elkhart County, Indiana, and is developing operations in Asia.