It has invested $100 million in the technology, in response to environmental regulations on fuel economy and emissions.

Like most of its rivals it has switched to the development of vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells.

In August Ford said it was pulling the plug on the Think program after disappointing sales and lack of government support for electric vehicle programs reduced its mass market viability.

A Ford spokesman in Detroit declined to put a value on the deal, which was expected to be well below the original purchase price.

In October, Zap, a California maker of electric bikes and scooters, made a $10 million offer for Think.

Ford's abandonment of its electric car programme comes as part of restructuring and cost cutting at the auto giant which is trying to recover from a $5.4 billion loss last year.

Singapore-based KamKorp has a significant stake in electric vehicles and is expected to continue developing electric cars. Ford pulled the plug on Think just as it had finished developing a new model.

Think has produced more than 1,000 of its two-seater City hatchbacks which have a range of about 53 miles (85 km) in city driving and require up to six hours for a recharge.

The Think Neighbor, a golfcart-like vehicle with a top speed of about 25 miles (40 km) per hour, started production at a Ford plant in Detroit in the fall of last year.

While Ford said it could make up to 10,000 Think Neighbor vehicles annually only about 2,000 have been this year and the company plans to wind down production.