THINK joins Basque Country eco car-sharing cosortium

Up to 15 THINK City Electric Vehicless with lithium ion batteries will be available in Ataun as part of the project, named Sarecar, and thanks to the consortium partners – made up of organisations such as Iberdrola, one of the largest utility companies in Europe; Kutxa, a Basque Country savings group; Diputacion Guipuzkoa, the regional government office and Ayuntamiento de Ataun, the city council – several new EV charging stations are being installed at key locations around the city.

The new charging stations are being erected around the region by consortium partner Iberdrola, and thanks to technical innovations made by the utilities giant, all will be powered using 100% renewable energy sources like wind power and solar energy.

Iberdrola president, Sanchez Galan, said: “When the programme is launched in October, we aim to prove that the mainstream adoption of electric vehicles is not just a dream.”

THINK CEO, Richard Canny, added: “Spain is a growing market for electric vehicles, and thanks to our in-country partner, Going Green, we have been able to establish a footprint here in the last year. Now that we have introduced air-conditioning to the THINK City as well, we expect this footprint to grow in the coming months, with increasing sales in the key cities of Madrid and Barcelona and now, thanks to this excellent, totally carbon free car-share project from Sarecar, we are making in-roads into the Basque Country as well.”

“We are proud and impressed with the level of commitment to this new scheme and with the calibre of the partners getting involved on such a large scale,” he concluded.

The latest generation THINK City is a purpose-built, all-electric and fully air-conditioned urban car with lithium ion batteries that can travel at highway speeds and cover 160 kilometers on a single charge (via conventional household outlet), with zero local emissions.

It is the world’s first electric car 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 continues in Finland with manufacturing partner Valmet Automotive, which also assembles the Boxster and Cayman models for Porsche AG, and deliveries are taking place across Europe in selected key electric cars 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.

THINK is a pioneer in electric vehicles and a leader in electric vehicle technology, a position developed and proven over 19 years. It is one of the few companies that has a ‘ready-to-market’ fully electric vehicle – the THINK City. With its market-leading range, driveability and recyclability, the THINK City is the first vehicle of its type to be granted pan-European regulatory safety approval and CE certification.

THINK is also a leader in electric drive-system technology, and was the first to offer a modular and flexible EV drive-train solution in the business-to-business sector. With its Scandinavian origins and sustainability mindset, THINK is one of the most carbon efficient car companies in the world.

www.thinkev.com