EV Car Think City

Per Bandsholm


EV CAR OWNER • THINK CITY A306 OWNER • B.Sc.EE ENGINEER

Think City

A EV Car produced in Norway by carmaker Think Global from the start of the century.

The A306 was released to the market in 2008.

The vehicle was released as 2 seated with a Zebra battery and a Siemens 3-phased water cooled motor.


Production:

  • AUG 2008 - MAR 2011: Europe
  • NOV 2010 - AUG 2012 UAS


Production statistic - A306:

  • PIV0 Year 1974
  • PIV1 Year 1993
  • PIV2 Year 1994
  • PIV3 Year 1995
  • PIV4 Year 1998 Think Classic A266: 1056 cars


  • A306 Conformation Prototypes (CP): 30
  • PIV5 Year 2007 Think City A306:  2236 cars
    - 460 produced in Aurskog, Norway, All Zebra Battery.
    - 1876 in Uusikaupunki, Finland ( Valmet Automobile)
    - Black: 951, Red: 354, Blue: 354, Yellow:146, The reast: 81 transfered from Finland to US, Others: Dark Blue: 1 or 2 DEKA, UK
  • Convertable: Yes 3 prototypes called Think Open.


  •  US production in Magnum Drive plant, Elkhart, Indiana. Finsish assembly to cars from basic A306 cars supplied from Valmet, Finland with e.g. Lithium-Ion battery from EnerDel, Indianapolis. Basic is here: Body, Wheel, Chassis.


Serial numbers:

  • 000000 - 000499: Initial Prototypes
  • 004100 - 004199: Pilot serie 1
  • 004200 - 004299: Pilot serie 2
  •  005000 - xxxxxx: Running serial production 


Battery from factory [0km]:

  •  Zebra battery: 2088 cars
  • Lithium: 148 cars


Seated:

  • 2 seated: 2088 cars
  • 4 seated: 148 cars

Car ID Identification:

  •  1-3: YCC - World Manufacturer Identifier
  •  4: F - Restrraint System Type: Active belt and Air bags.
  • 5: T - Passenger Car type
  • 6-7: 26 -  Think City LHD
  • 8: B - 30kW Zebra Battery. C- Eberdel Battery
  • 9: VIN Check digit
  • 10: 8 - Model Year 2008. A - 2010. B:2011. C: 2012
  • 11: J - Manufactury plant, Aurskog, Norway. U-Finland.
  • 12: 0: 2 seated. 9= 4 seated.
  • 13-17: 000000 - Serial number


Generaations:

  • GEN 1
  • GEN2  identification ..AU0053xx


Main Components:

  • 34kW 3-phase water cooled Siemens Motor (89 Nm / 46 hp)
  • Gearbox 1:10,15
  • 24kWh NaAlCl4 Zebra battery
  • 23kWh Lithium-ion Battery
  • Inbuild charger: 1- phase with 8A or 16A
  •  - 230VAC 1,8kW / 3,6kW Zebra: 13h / 6h


Performance:

  • Range: 160 km
  • Max speed: 110 km/t
  • Turning diameter: 9,0m


Dimension:

  • Weight: 1038 kg
  • +Load capacity with passengers: 202kg
  • Size: L: 3,143m W:1,658m H: 1,596m Wheelbase: 1,970m
  • Wheel: 14" * 6" ET24 PCD 108, CA


The Car

Think City electric car - how they make it (Video)

Drag racing Think City versus BMW X5 V8 (Video)

Think City Test (Video)


Think City

This Section will describe Service and some of the main designs in a Think City A306. 


Wheel systems:

Front Wheels: A lot of the parts for Front Wheel and Front disc brake are same parts as used for a Citröen Saxo from 2007-2008.

Read Wheels: A lot of parts for Rear Wheel and Drup brake are same partss as used for a Peugeot 108 2007-2008

A Brake booster is activated each time the brake pedal is released to ensure there are pressure in the system for the next brake pedal activiation.


Steering system:

Many parts to stearing system are same as used in Ford Focus from 2007-2008. But some of the parts are also special parts for Think City A306.

Car Key: Is same as on Ford Focus 2007-2008. The Key cannot be released without the gearbox is in position P for Parking.


High Power Battery System - Zebra Battery:

Zebra Battery: The battery voltage is as high as 371 VDC when fully charged. The Zebra batttery need to have a temperature >200 degree Celcius to deliver energy to the power electronic and the Motor. The battery heater is taking energy from the Zebra battery to keep this templerature in the right range (6-7% energy points per day) . A 30 hours heat-up time is needed from the Power plug to heet up the battery, if the battery has been fullt discharged for days, weeks or months.