Open Access Article Originally Published: August 31, 2002
Editor's Note: This is apparently an evolving story. I've had to rewrite it once already. Expect more changes in the coming days. EV World reader reactions
Yesterday, Ford Motor Company quietly announced it was canceling the Th!nk program and that's when the confusion began. According to the first Reuters news report, it was the Th!nk city, pictured above, that was cancelled. Now the latest AP report is that it is the neighbor, Th!nks NEV that is being cancelled. The fate of the city is still uncertain, according to at least one California dealership, implying that the program is still alive for the moment.
The earlier Reuter's report stated that Ford was looking for a potential buyer for the Norwegian manufacturing facility it had bought back in late 1999, paying $23 million for it. A Reuters's news story stated the company had subsequently invested another $100 million in the program to build the Th!nk city, a battery-powered two-seater.
Ford's Tim Holmes is reported to have said the company was canceling the program because of low consumer demand and little government support, but it's unclear exactly which Th!nk product he was referring to. Reuters reported the company only had produced a little over 1,050 vehicles, far below its target of 5,000 a year. The company had originally expected to introduce the Th!nk city into the US later this year, a date which subsequently slipped in 2003 as the company searched for a different battery technology for the all-electric car.
Signs that the Th!nk program may have been in trouble began as early as December 2000 when Dave Goldstein (see his remarks below) noticed a "For Lease" sign on the building leased by TH!nk in Carlsbad, California. Th!nk's director, John Wallace reassured EV World that the company was only sub-letting a part of the building it wasn't using.
Throughout 2001, the company continued to be up-beat and positive about the Th!nk program, though it quietly (which is how these things are done, it seems) terminated its Th!nk electric bicycle sales effort and shifted its Th!nk neighbor NEV manufacturing from a proposed site in Kansas to one closer to Detroit. The company also ran a nationwide series of television spots highlighting the benefits of the Th!nk city.
Starting in January 2002, the company debuted the redesigned Th!nk, pictured above, at the glitzy Los Angeles Auto Show. As late as early this Summer, Wallace was planning on a fall roll-out of the city, going so far as to invite EV World's editor to the as-yet-unplanned event.
But events both globally and at Ford were converging on the innovative Th!nk program. Once flush with a multi-billion dollar surplus of cash, Ford finances began to take a serious hit from the Firestone tire scandal, which Firestone blamed on the design of the Ford Explorer, while Ford counter-charged the problem was the tire maker's fault. Now Ford finds itself faced with another tire recall, this time with Continental, to the tune of some 500,000 tires, again on Ford SUVs. At the same time, lawsuits are being brought against the company over its Crown Victoria sedan, a model popular with many American police departments. The suits allege the car's gas tank is poorly placed and can result in lethal explosions and fires when hit from the rear.
Overall the company has lost more than $5.45 billion dollars in 2001, forcing the resignation of Jacque Nasser, the closing of five manufacturing plants and the lay-off of tens of thousands of workers.
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5 comments so far...
01-Sep-2002
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According to a spokesman from Aurskog (Where Th!nk City is made), Ford have lost the belief in EV's. The development of better batteries went slower than expected. For this reason, they have decided to cell the Th!nk City.
The people at Aurskog hope that there are some other company that is intresting of buying out Th!nk.But if nothing change (eg. the sale go up), that nobody will bee intrested in buying them out.
There are discussion in the Norwegian Parliament(in the hallways) if there should bee some government intervention. (eg. by part of the company)
Som articels on the matter: Norwegian News in English:
http://www.aftenposten.no/english/business/article.jhtml?articleID=390785
http://www.norwaypost.no/content.asp?folder_id=9&cluster_id=20463
I have personally seen only seen 3-5 Th!nk + one City-Bee. The problem is that the Th!nk, in Norway, is only practical as car number 2. With a country as long as the distens from Key-West to Chicago, and 4.5 Million inh. people live to fare apart.
Th!nk should have been an serial HEV. With current EV-range, and a ICE-engine sized for 60kph [35mih]. 60 kph is the average speed cars in practice make in Norway. A Th!nk like that, I would have bought, as my only car.
Posted by: Michael Eric Rafoshei-Klev
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03-Sep-2002
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This is either the worst example of reporting, or the the worst possible example of corporate screw up. After fifteen years working in the EV industry, I have seen it all. Most of which the
Posted by: Doug Canfield
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06-Sep-2002
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Why use the headline
Posted by: Glenn Pedersen
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06-Sep-2002
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The reason no one can make money is that no one wants to take the risk of high production volumes, say 40,000 units per year. At high volume, a 32 cell LiIon battery, 118v, would cost less than $10,000 while providing 23kWh. No other car has made profit without either cool styling or high volume. When Ford sought to compete with market leader Honda Civic they did it with a very high volume Focus. They took a risk on the Focus but not on a Th!nk. Go figure.
Posted by: David Gardner
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13-Sep-2002
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I buy the fleet for our local college, leasing a Ranger EV NiMH in 1999 and purchasing a 2002 Prius and a 2003 Civic Hybrid. If every higher education institution in America did the same thing, the marketability of the City would not have been in question. But I can not recommend that. Our experience leads me to question whether Ford is ready for prime time with its battery-powered cars.
The Ranger EV was a reliability disaster, going dead on us time after time. Though we were promised roadside assistance and an unlimited 3 year warranty, Ford stopped picking up the vehicle when it would break down after about a year. We had to winch it onto our car trailer and lose an employee for the better part of a day to get the truck to the nearest authorized dealership - over 60 miles away.
So, while I am disappointed with the loss of the City, I can safely say that we would not have gone near it - and we would have been considered a slam dunk customer until our recent experience with Ford.
Posted by: Jeff Spear
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