TOPICS & TIMES:
- Background: What is Taiga Motors? (3:10)
- From fun college project to actual business (3:30)
- Evolution of the product: from TS1 to TS3 (15:02)
- Power & Instant Torque (20:40)
- Temperature Performance — Cold & Hot (23:35)
- Range (28:19)
- Charging / How long does charging take? (33:17)
- Weight & ‘real-world’ comparisons (37:22)
- Pricing & Options (43:06)
- Production Launch: When & What? (45:30)
- Taiga’s current Pre-Order: Details (47:18)
- Electric Cars: thoughts on the current landscape (53:13)
- What’s the best question I haven’t asked you? (55:35)
- Taiga’s next big thing (58:13)
While more and more electric cars are hitting the streets, Taiga Motors is about to bring the world’s first commercial electric snowmobiles to the backcountry and ski areas — and they are taking pre-orders right now. So we talked with Taiga Motors CEO & co-founder, Sam Bruneau, about taking the electric snowmobile from a fun college project to an actual business, and the long process of designing electric sleds from the ground up. Then we get into the details of how (and how long it takes) to charge a Taiga, and how these electric sleds measure up against gas-powered snowmobiles in terms of power, torque, weight, range, and performance in harsh temperatures.
I saw an electric snowmobile being used by ski patrol the past winter in Zermatt. He told me they were manufactured in the Zermatt area. However, I don’t know if they are available to the public.
It is not the first electric snow mobile. Finland have had those for years now.