Think Indiana !

Think Indiana !

Think, the Norway based all-electric carmaker, has chosen a site in Indiana for its first North American manufacturing facility.

The Norwegian company plans to invest $43.5 million in a former glass factory in Elkhart, Indiana and start building the Think City electric car there in 2011. The company is receiving nearly $17 million in local and state incentives and job training funding for the plant, which will employ about 415 workers by 2013.

Think, which will be an exhibitor at the 2010 Washington Auto show, wants to begin selling the Think City electric car in the U.S. later this year to fleet customers, using vehicles imported from Europe until the U.S. vehicles are ready to launch.

The two-passenger car runs on lithium-ion batteries from supplier and investor EnerDel, which also is based in Indiana. The car has a range of 112 miles and a top speed of about 70 mph. The vehicle is expected to cost about $30,000 after a $7,500 federal tax credit.

Think hopes to reduce the price of the vehicle to less than $20,000, with a $90 monthly lease for the batteries.

Think, which was originally owned by Ford Motor Co., had been making and distributing City cars in Norway, but filed for bankruptcy protection in December 2008. The company secured new investors and emerged from bankruptcy last fall. It hopes to eventually produce about 20,000 electric vehicles a year.