Green News: THINK Expands To South America

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, announces further international expansion today – with the delivery of its first vehicles into South America – part of a new collaboration with Brazilian electricity supplier, CPFL Energia S.A.

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.

Richard Canny, THINK CEO, said: “The timing couldn’t be better, with our first cars into South America arriving this week and the high level Michelin Challenge Bibendum conference getting underway – positioning THINK very well as one of the first EV makers to make its mark in South America, just like we have in Europe. Also, we have a very good collaborator in CPFL, as one of the leading electricity suppliers in the country. It is also the most forward thinking environmentally, with plans already taking shape to electrify part of CPFL’s very sizeable fleet of vehicles.”

Wilson Pinto Ferreira Junior, CPFL Energia CEO, added: “Sustainable mobility is fast working its way up the political and environmental agendas here in Brazil, and CPFL wants to be at the forefront of this movement. We are showing some of our plans for electrifying the CPFL vehicle fleet at the Michelin Challenge Bibendum, which, in its special 10th anniversary year and under the leadership of our President, will clearly emphasise the determination of this country to strive for a more sustainable mobility in future. We are very pleased that THINK is supporting us in our aim to achieve this goal, both at CPFL and hopefully in Brazil as a whole.”

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, which also assembles the Boxster and Cayman models for Porsche AG. 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.

Credits: wilswong