Kleiner Perkins is joining hands with another clean technology-focused venture capital firm and a Norwegian company to bring electric cars to the United States, signalling a Silicon Valley push to make American driving greener. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Boston-based RockPort Capital Partners and electric car maker Think Global will create a new Menlo Park, California-based company called Think North America. The deal was announced on Monday at the Fortune Brainstorm Green Conference in Pasadena, California. Kleiner and RockPort have already invested in Think Global, and each will hold 25 percent of the new company, Wilber James, RockPort managing general partner, said at a news conference. The joint venture's first product will be Think City, an emission-free, 95 percent recyclable car with a maximum speed of 65 miles an hour. Plans call for a US launch in 2009. Now made in Norway, the City -- about the size of a Toyota Yaris or Honda Fit -- runs on sodium or lithium batteries and can travel up to 110 miles (177 km) on one charge, making it viable for the average American, who commutes 30 miles a day. "This is not a toy, this is a serious car that is able to be mass-produced and sold," James said. The two-seater has an option to add two more seats for children up to 14 years of age, Think Global Chief Executive Jan-Olaf Willums said. The company is negotiating with US utility companies on potential tie-ups that could involve setting up "fuelling stations" to charge the cars, following similar models in Europe, the executives said, without disclosing details. The City's battery now takes about three hours to recharge if plugged in daily, or eight hours if the battery is drained. Kleiner, known for backing companies like Google Inc and Amazon.com Inc, was attracted to the joint venture because the City could be sold in big numbers. "In a couple of years, we hope to be selling 30-40-50,000 cars per year," said Ray Lane, a Kleiner managing partner and chairman of Think North America. "It's the only electric vehicle we're aware of ready for mass production and scale up because it's been crash-tested in European and US markets." THE PUSH FOR GREEN CARS Both auto makers and VCs are scrambling to find alternatives to gasoline-powered vehicles to address concerns about higher gasoline costs and environmental sustainability. General Motors Corp is targeting completion of a plug-in hybrid, the Chevrolet Volt, by the end of 2010. Venture capitalists have been investing heavily in the "cleantech" sector, which encompasses a host of alternative energy, transportation, construction, recycling and other environmentally friendly technologies. In the first quarter, venture capital firms invested $625 million in cleantech, up 51 percent from a year earlier, according to data from the National Venture Capital Association, PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Thomson Reuters. Kleiner has now invested in three companies making clean cars, including Fisker Automotive, which makes a sporty, plug-in hybrid. Lane refused to disclose the third investment. Lane said he expects the Think City, which will be priced under $25,000, to compete with "Prius-class customers," referring to Toyota Motor Corp's popular hybrid. Tesla Motors' all-electric Roadster is aimed at the luxury segment, priced at about $100,000. Tesla has financing from various VC firms, including Draper Fisher Jurvetson. Earlier this year, Think Global announced a strategic partnership with General Electric, an investor in the company, to collaborate on electric-vehicle technology. Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Braden Reddall Story by Anupreeta Das REUTERS NEWS SERVICE