General Electric invests in electric carmaker Think

Industrial giant General Electric has invested approximately $4 million into Think Global, the Norwegian company that specializes in electric town cars.

The investment exists, in part, to aid another investment by GE in lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems. GE has invested $20 million into A123, which is working with General Motors on the Chevy Volt. Think, which has been getting its lithium-ion batteries from a company called EnerDel, has now signed a deal to also get batteries from A123.

An artist's rendering of the Ox

(Credit: Think)

Think started rolling cars off the production line late last year. The company's first car is a resurrection of an electric car Ford hawked last decade. It goes 100 miles on a charge and is made for city driving. It only sells the car in Norway but will expand to other cities in Europe and may bring it to the States in 2008 or 2009.

At the Geneva auto show, Think also introduced the Think Ox, a five-seater that is larger than the original car, and the Think City, a plug-in hybrid.

Prior to the GE investment, Think had raised $85 million. It's not cheap getting a car company off the ground.