RockPort Capital Partners, a venture capital group, is investing heavily in the electric car maker Think and sees Indiana as fertile ground for this budding industry.
Based in Boston, Mass., and Menlo Park, Calif., the $850 million investment fund specializes in energy and clean technology. In the recent round of fundraising that garnered Think $40 million in equity, RockPort chipped in $12.5 million.
"Elkhart and Indiana, if they play their cards right, look advantageous because of visionary people," said Wilbur James, co-founder and co-managing general partner of RockPort. "I think Indiana has the pole position."
RockPort initially invested $8 million in Think about three years ago, shortly before the Norwegian manufacturer hit financial trouble and went into receivership. The venture capital fund liked the idea of electric vehicles, James explained, and stuck with the company, bringing in auto veteran Richard Canny as chief executive officer.
Now Think is opening a plant in Elkhart and plans to make two-passenger, all-electric cars starting in 2011.
To be successful in the North American market, James said the Think City must be priced at a point low enough that consumers can afford it as a second car but still not change their habits. Calling the vehicle a "people's car," James boasted that Think, as a company, already is making and selling cars for the European market and has 30 million miles of drivetrain experience.
Although carmakers have flirted with electric vehicles in the past, James is confident this time the cars will became a core piece of the transportation sector. Even if Think as a company fails, he said, electric vehicles will continue to be produced and driven on American roads.
Still, government support in the form of subsidies remains a key to the electric vehicle industry's survival in the United States, James said. Global competition is growing with Chinese automakers eyeing the American market. In particular, government support is needed to develop battery technology and manufacture the power sources domestically.
"We don't want to be captive to Chinese batteries like we are to Saudi oil," James said.
Think has applied to the U.S. Department of Energy for a loan to start the Elkhart operation. Officials have not released the amount the company is asking for but James indicated the importance of those funds.
Without the loan, James said, it will "absolutely make it very hard for us to be able to execute in our North American plant."
Along with foreign countries, many states are vying for a piece of the industry, James said. Consequently, he had praise for Gov. Mitch Daniels, crediting him with creating a business-friendly atmosphere in Indiana.