FORD of Britain chief Ian McAllister says discussions are taking place as to whether right-hand drive versions of the innovative two-seat electric TH!NK city car are viable as fleet orders take-off. The car is the first purpose-built European electric vehicle to be produced in volume and has a top speed of 56mph and a range between charges of 53 miles.

Nickel-cadmium batteries have a 10-year life and they are recharged in four to six hours by plugging the car into a 220-volt electrical outlet. The vehicle designed for city and urban driving will go on sale in Scandinavia before the end of this year with production starting in Norway next month.

The plant has an initial capacity of 5,000 vehicles a year. TH!NK Nordic president Per A. Lilleng said: 'Interest in our new TH!NK city car has been extremely strong. We already have strong customer order commitments on the books, especially from fleets and institutions. We expect orders to climb rapidly once the public gets the opportunity to test drive this new idea for urban mobility.'

Norwegian telecom company Telenord is leading the fleet interest with plans to buy 700 TH!NK electric city cars during the next few years. Ford says the range of TH!NK products will be expanded in the future.