That in turn would breathe new life into a now-idle factory at which 25 workers were laid off last month. Nearly 60 employees are still on staff, however, and they're all banking on the unusual vehicle that looks rather like a large box on wheels.
The Norwegian car makers in Aurskog are in the process of finishing up another prototype of the vehicle, which will have a top speed of 50 kilometers per hour and is aimed strictly at inner-city use organized by local transit authorities.
"You can recognize the 'bus look' of it," says Think Nordic sales manager Anne Valera Diesen. She also touts its "subway-style interior" and its single, manually sliding door and height that ease entry and exit.
It's a far cry from the popular little "Think City" personal vehicle that brought fame but never fortune to the Norwegian company. Bernd Winkler, who took over as managing director of Think Nordic after it was sold by Ford Motor Co last year, claims he and new owner Kamkorp Microelectronics never saw much commercial potential in the personal car market.
"That was not an economically viable product," Winkler says emphatically, noting that it would command a price tag of at least EUR 35,000 "and who would pay that? Maybe the first thousand enthusiasts, but where would the next thousand customers come from? And the thousand after that?"
The fledgling "Think Public," however, can be sold for as little as EUR 19,000 and is marketed at fleet buyers who would put them in a pool to be administered by public transit authorities. (See accompanying story.)
Letters of commitment
Winkler claims Think Nordic already has obtained letters of commitment from transit authorities in several European cities. Once testing is completed and approved this fall, those letters will be converted into orders, he says.
Think Nordic, Winkler says, can turn a profit on annual production of 800 Think Public vehicles. He figures the plant has capacity to produce up to 2,000 cars a year, noting that other fleet users from large companies to airport operators can order modifications of the vehicle based on "platform sharing."
Credibility issues
Anyone following the fate of Think Nordic over the past few years may have reason to doubt such optimistic predictions. Published reports have cast doubt on the credibility and economic capacity of Kamkorp's lone shareholder, the UK-based Indian investor Kamal Siddiqi. Winkler, however, dismisses such doubts.
"This product can allow us to make money, for the first time ever in Think's history," insists Winkler, noting that production of the Think City might resume if the company becomes profitable. "Ford used Think as a PR exercise. Our goal from day one has been commercial viability."
