The Norwegian car maker ran into money troubles. What does this say about the EV market?
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
