Think picks EnerDel for its car batteries; will car come soon?
Indiana's EnerDel wins a coveted contract for electric cars, but the full picture isn't clear.
Another day, another mystery in the electric car industry.
EnerDel, which makes a lithium-ion battery for electric cars and hybrids, announced Monday that it has been anointed the "supplier of choice" By Think Nordic, the guys coming out with an electric town car. EnerDel says its battery will keep the car going for 100 miles before a charge is needed.
EnerDel will deliver prototypes to Think in March 2008 and pre-production parts by July 2008. If all works well, the contract could be worth $70 million, according to EnerDel.
Jan-Olaf Willums calls it the biggest contract for electric vehicle batteries in the world to date.
All fine and good, but it opens a mystery. Think earlier touted a contract with Tesla Motors for batteries. It's unclear if that is still on, or if it's been displaced. We're making calls now.
By the way, don't expect to see a lot of Think cars on the road, even in Oslo, soon. The company still plans to come out with cars this year, but on a limited basis. November will be when the first cars come out, according to a post in the Norway Post.
Mass production won't begin until 2008. This was tucked into the "About Think" section of the release:
"Think's existing factories are presently being upgraded by Porsche Consulting to make it one of Europe's most cost-efficient assembly plants ready to mass produce the Think model in 2008."
Mass production for Think, however, can be a little light on the mass. In July, Think raised $60 million. The goal, stated then, was to get to 250 cars a month within a year.