Building on recent announcements about new markets entered in Europe and plans to start new operations in the USA and Asia, THINK, the Scandinavian electric vehicle maker, has now announced a deal with energy provider CPFL Energia to conduct a feasibility study on its THINK City EVs in the Brazilian market.
CPFL Energia has purchased three THINK City EVs, which it intends to showcase at the high profile Michelin Challenge Bibendum sustainable mobility conference, hosted in Rio de Janeiro at the end of this month, and attended by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
CPFL Energia S.A., with revenues of US$ 6.0 Billion in 2009, engages in the generation, distribution, and commercialization of energy through its many subsidiaries in the Brazilian electricity sector, both in free and regulated markets. As of December 31, 2009, the company had installed generation capacity of 1,737 megawatts; and distributed electricity to approximately 6.6 million consumers. It serves residential, industrial, and commercial customers.
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 any 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 is underway in Finland with manufacturing partner Valmet Automotive. First customer deliveries are taking place across Europe in selected key EV markets such as The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Austria and Switzerland.
THINK also recently announced plans to establish a U.S. production facility during 2011 in Elkhart County, Indiana, and is working with Japanese partner Itochu on developing operations in Asia.[wzslider height=”400″ lightbox=”true”]
