EV Maker Think Makes Its Finnish Debut at Helsinki Electric Motor Show 2009

HELSINKI, FINLAND - November 5, 2009: Think, the Norwegian electric vehicle (EV) maker, makes its Finland motor show debut this weekend at the Helsinki Electric Motor Show, which runs from Friday to Sunday, 6 – 8 November 2009.

The Think City is the world’s first ‘ready-to-market’ urban EV and is among the world’s most carbon friendly vehicles, with zero local emissions and three times the energy efficiency of a traditional combustion engine car.

Richard Canny, Think CEO, says: “We are delighted to be a part of this dedicated EV motor show, which is testament to the rapidly growing market for electric vehicles around the world. Think has been producing EVs since 1991 and the Think City is the world’s first ‘ready-to-market’ urban battery electric vehicle – it is available for sale now in some European countries and we are inviting auto show visitors test drives in a production Think City, which will soon be manufactured here in Finland with our partners, Valmet Automotive.”

The Think City is a very safe vehicle to drive both in cities and on highways, as proven by its certification with the European CE conformity mark and EU homologation requirements (M1 certificate) – it is the first electric vehicle to be awarded a pan-European homologation certificate. To become the first EV to meet these exacting standards, the Think City has been through extensive testing and validation, including hundreds of computer simulations and correlations, over 50 sled tests and more than 20 full vehicle crash tests.

Ilpo Korhonen, President of Valmet Automotive, said: “Finland will soon be Think’s manufacturing base, therefore it is significant that the company is exhibiting the Think City at the very first Helsinki Electric Motor Show. Our strategic alliance in Europe with Think for manufacturing engineering, production and further product development consolidates Valmet’s expertise in the EV business, in which Think is a leader, given its outstanding carbon efficiency, proven safety attributes and fun driving characteristics.”

Pre-launch activities of the Think City have started in selected markets such as Norway, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria and most recently, Spain. Vehicles in these countries are primarily sold to municipal fleets, government and utility partners as pilot and demonstration fleets with the support of government incentives.