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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA company plans to start production work on electric cars at a northern Indiana factory before the end of this year.
Think North America spokesman Brendan Prebo says 500 incomplete vehicles without power trains are being shipped from Finland to Elkhart, where assembly work will be completed before the cars are sold to selected customers in U.S. cities.
Prebo tells The Elkhart Truth that the company expects to initially hire about 25 people before ramping up its operations next year. Prebo said the company was "making good progress" on its bid for a loan from the U.S. Department of Energy.
The Norwegian-based company announced in January its plans to move into a former recreational vehicle parts factory and potentially have 400 full-time workers by 2013.
Privately owned Think was recapitalized last year, and New York-based battery maker Ener1 now owns a 31 percent share. Ener1, which manages its EnerDel lithium-ion battery brand from offices in Indianapolis, employs about 100 people at its headquarters at 8740 Hague Road and is planning an $100 million expansion that would create 850 jobs across Indiana by 2012.
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