Indego automotive concept, automotive consulting, steve young

I had a short drive in the original Think car at an Automotive News Europe Congress in Gothenberg back in 2002.  Even in a few hundred metres it was obvious that this was a much more sophisticated product that the G-Wizz and other electric cars which are becoming popular in London, driven entirely by the opportunity to avoid paying the congestion charge to Ken Livingston.

Now Think is being reborn under new ownership (and with more than a whiff of IndeGo about the business model, at least on the industrial side.  The product design is modular, based around a steel body structure with hang-on plastic skin panels.  The body structure and other modules are sourced as far as possible in low cost countries, whilst the remaining final assembly content can be performed close to the market in small standard industrial units.  On the commercial side, Think are planning to lease the battery rather than the whole car, but will employ telematics (like IndeGo) to provide continuous condition monitoring of the vehicle, and plan to use innovative sales approaches and channels, rather than the highly inefficient dealer networks of today’s industry.

The real challenge for Think will be related to the technology and the willingness of people to have a car dedicated for a single motoring environment.  However, the new owners and managers have clearly got a number of the other basics right and I wish them well with their launch later this year.