Scandinavian electric vehicle (EV) maker, THINK, announces its entry into the Finnish market, with the immediate start of sales at Helsinki EV Motor Show 2010.
Exhibiting at the Helsinki show for the second time, THINK and Valmet Automotive have developed a dedicated new THINK EV test track adjacent to the show stand. Test drives will be available in the latest generation THINK City throughout the duration of the show.
First deliveries of the THINK City in Finland will be to green delivery pioneers A2B, through a new THINK dealership in Helsinki. Further full-service dealerships will be opened in the coming months in other Finnish cities such as Turku, Tampere, Lahti, Jyväskylä and Oulu.
Valmet Automotive President, Ilpo Korhonen, said: “Since we entered into collaboration with THINK in 2009 there has been very high level of interest from customers, both business and private, wanting to buy the THINK City. This hasn’t been possible in Finland until now, and we are extremely excited by the prospect of being exclusive distributor here, especially with the experience and expertise of our new sales and marketing director Hans Svensson leading the sales operation.”
THINK CEO, Richard Canny, added: “We know Valmet Automotive very well, and have the utmost respect and pride in their attention to quality and technical excellence in
everything they do. We are sure this attitude will carry through to the newly established sales operation in this sophisticated and very EV-ready market.”
The latest generation THINK City is a purpose-built, all-electric and fully air-conditioned urban car that can travel at highway speeds and cover 160 kilometres on a single charge (via 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 continues in Finland with manufacturing partner Valmet Automotive, known for excellent manufacturing quality of premium cars. Customer deliveries are taking place across Europe in selected key EV markets such as The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, France, Austria, Switzerland and now Finland.
THINK has also 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.