Taiga Motors Announces Off-Road Charging Network | Mountain Sledder
Technology
October 29th, 2021
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Taiga Motors Announces Off-Road Charging Network

Electric snowmobile and personal watercraft manufacturer, Taiga Motors, has announced a plan to install 1100 charging stations for its vehicles in off-grid locations in North America within the next four years.

The ambitious goal aims to support owners of its products take electrified backcountry recreation farther.

Taiga Charging Infrastructure Plan

Taiga says that by 2025, its charging infrastructure will aim to unlock 75,000 kilometers of trails and waterways with new installations in Canada and USA.

Of this number, approximately 60% will be trails (off-road and snowmobile combined) and 40% waterways.

21-TAIGA-EXPLORATION-NETWORK-MAP-02-WEB-1
This map shared by Taiga indicates targeted locations, not specific addresses. Timing and location of planned off-road charging locations shown on this map are subject to change.

While many of the charging station locations are still to be finalized, Taiga Motors CCO, Jacques Demont, points out the importance of starting the off-grid charging infrastructure, now.

“We need to start now to be ready, to prepare. This is one of the first questions: ‘How can I recharge, and where?’ When we already have something in place, there will be more attraction for our brand.”
Jacques Demont, Taiga Motors CCO

The priority for the company is to focus first on building the network in popular locations, where charging stations will provide Taiga customers an extension of their ability to cover long distances and explore farther.

The plan is already underway in two locations in Ontario and Quebec, where there is a strong concentration of Taiga pre-sales orders. A Level 2 charging station at Lake Simcoe in Ontario, and a Level 2 and 3 station at Lake Memphremagog, Quebec have already been deployed.

As for what areas will ultimately receive charging infrastructure support, there are many factors—not the least of which is sales of the electric vehicles and how and where they will be used. Other factors would play into an eventual build out of a charging network as well, including such things as distance between stations, what the source of energy will be, the charging capacity at the site, and how maintenance of structures.

Mountain Snowmobile Charging Infrastructure

As for charging stations in mountain riding areas, Demont points to Revelstoke, BC, specifically as an example of a location that will be prioritized.

While no specific timeline can be provided, Demont suggests that a network there would likely start with a base area charging infrastructure first, with fast-charging Level 3 support.

It’s too early in the plan to provide specific objectives for charging stations at upper elevation locations in Revelstoke and elsewhere, says Demont, but Taiga will look at how to implement infrastructure in the higher elevation and more remote locations in a step-by-step approach.

Naturally, this expansion of the charging network into remote and high elevation locations will come with additional challenges.

Taiga Off-Road Charging Network_

Taiga Charging Network Application

Taiga has made a link available on its website for interested individuals and entities to apply to join the Taiga Charging Network with a specific site in mind.

This is an opportunity for organizations in popular places where snowmobiling, off-road and watersports recreation already take place to connect with Taiga to discover if their location would be a good fit for the support of an electric charging installation paid for by Taiga.

Taiga Motors Announces Off-Road Charging Network

With charging network installations already underway, there will be plenty of opportunity for Taiga to build out its network in many other popular and easy-to-access areas with relatively little difficulty.

The plan for expanding the network into areas that will support owners of the company’s EKKO mountain sled is still pretty theoretical at this time, and it will certainly be a more challenging endeavour to undertake.

However, Taiga Motors is clearly undeterred by the challenges of pursuing the company’s vision of cleaner recreation. It hasn’t been an overnight success story by any means, but Taiga continues to look forward and make plans to support its future customers and their desires to explore the outdoors in a less impactful way.

 

– MS

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