Think electric cars coming to North America

Oslo, Norway's Think Global announced today that it plans to bring its compact Think City electric vehicle to the North American market.

The company, which expects to start selling the car on the other side of the Atlantic in 2009, said it formed Think North America in partnership with its investors RockPort Capital Partners and Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers.

"The Think City is the world's only crash-tested and highway-certified electric vehicle and is ideal for markets such as California where we will initiate demonstration projects offering an exceptionally safe and fun car to drive," said Jan-Olaf Willums, CEO of Think Global.

The Think City, currently manufactured in Norway, has a top speed of about 65 miles an hour and can run for up to 110 miles on a single charge, according to Think Global.

Last month, the electric car maker got a boost from Fairfield, Conn.-based General Electric (NYSE: GE), which invested $4 million in Think Global (see GE invests $24M in electric car technology).

GE also poured more than $20 million into A123Systems, a Massachusetts-based battery supplier, which has signed a supply agreement with Think Global.

Think Global named Vicki Northrup as operations manager for Think North America, and said she would initially be based out of the new unit's Menlo Park, Calif., office.

Think Global said Northrup is an electric vehicle veteran and has worked for Bombardier Motor, as well as for Ford Motor (NYSE: F) when it previously owned the Think brand.