Say goodbye to the TH!NK City

According to the Financial Times in the UK, Think Global, the Norwegian electric car producer that produced the battery-powered TH!NK City electric vehicle and one of the earliest EV makers, filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday after failing to find long-term financing for its business.

The Times also said the U.S. lithium-ion battery producer Ener1, which extended financing to Think Global last year, plans to take a charge on its earnings worth about $35 million to cover loans it extended to Think Global. Ener1 supplied the lithium-ion batteries that went into the cars.

Long-time EV market watchers will probably remember that Ford Motor at one time owned Think Global and put $150 million into it before eventually selling the company. GE Capital also announced a financing deal with Think Global two years ago.

According to the Wikipedia page on Think Global, this is the fourth time in 20 years the company has filed for bankruptcy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Think_Global

The Financial Times item is here: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/6cc11b34-9cf9-11e0-8678-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1QBE6qaBv