EV specialist Think Global files for bankruptcy

Norwegian EV industry trailblazer Think Global has filed for bankruptcy under the weight of unsustainable debt

Automotive News reports the straw that broke the struggling city-car maker's back was battery maker Ener1's withdrawal from a supply and investment partnership, calling in a US$35.4 million debt. The move has sent Think into its fourth liquidation.

A recent attempt at restructure looked promising but failed to eventuate, European spokesman James Andrew said in a statement. "We needed some additional funding and although we had interested investors they weren't able to come to the table quickly enough," he said. The company has met press calls in Europe and the US with silence.

Ener1 is resigned to seeing little of its money back. "[The $35 million] is subject to change to the extent that we receive any recovery as a result of the liquidation of Think Global," it stated in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. "We presently believe that any such recovery, to the extent it occurs at all, is not likely to be significant."

Oslo-based law firm Thommessen has appointed a trustee to take control of the company's assets in Europe, as well as those of wholly owned US subsidiary Think North America. It was only last December that the US operation opened an EV production plant in Indiana.

Although it had a three-year head start in Europe and millions of incentive dollars in US federal, state and local loans, grants and/or tax credits, the company was destined to struggle in the face of competition from big-brand makers like Mitsubishi and Nissan.

Its only product, the tiny three-door, four-seat Think City, bears a US price tag of $36,495. That's before buyer incentives and tax rebates, but it's also $4,000 up on Nissan's bigger, better equipped and better supported Leaf.

Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at the carsales mobile site