Think Goes to Viking Rally, EVS 24

One of the most popular EVs to-date, at least for Scandinavian countries, the Think City Car, will take a place at the 24th International Battery, Hybrid and Fuel Cell Vehicle Symposium and Exhibition (the long, boring name for EVS 24). Set to debut in Norway on May 13, the event is an opportunity for those who mean something in the industry to leave their mark.

We have already told you about the Think. Displayed in front of the EU Commission building during the Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) and already having signed delivery contracts with the city of Amsterdam for some 500 units (10,000 cars by 2015), thinks prepares for the big stage.

Think City Car will be available for test driving during the event, but the real eye-catcher should be the Viking Rally, a race for battery electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen vehicles. Aimed at showing "that hydrogen, plug-in hybrid and battery electric cars are roadworthy alternatives", the competition will take the cars on a route from Oslo to Stavanger along Norway’s southern and western coast.

And don't think this is an easy task. The course stretches for no less than 550 km. Easy for a usual car, problematic for an EV. Remember that Think's top range is in between 170 km (105 miles) and 203 km (126 miles).

Norway is now at the forefront of the electric vehicle revolution. The country's Socialist Left Party even went as far as submitting a bill which will ban, starting 2015, all gasoline-powered vehicles in Norway.

For now, Think is available for sale in Norway and, as we said in Amsterdam, but for now the Think will be sold only to customers who live in cities with an EV charging network in place.