Think City EV Still Coming to America

Along with that boasting, Think’s U.S. expansion plans are still on track, which we wrote about in our series on Indiana automakers.

The two-seat City commuter will be assembled at a former RV plant in Elkhart, Ind., with fleet and retail sales starting in December. That’s about the same time that the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt go on sale in select markets.

According to the Elkhart Truth newspaper, the Finnish company expects to hire about 25 people at the Indiana plant. They will finish the assembly of 500 incomplete City electrics, which are shipped from Finland without their powertrains in place. Industry insiders call this method a “knock-down kit,” which allows Think to gain some extra tax preferences.

Eventually, the carmaker may employee 400 full-time employees in America. While the company has positive cash flow for 2011, Think has not secured U.S. Department of Energy loans to complete its full strategy.

Electric car maker plans start of Elkhart factory (SothBend Tribune)