Canadian power sports firm BRP announced that it would spend $300 million to electrify its entire lineup of vehicles by 2026. The company, which manufacturers watercraft, snowmobiles, ATVs, and go-karts, will start rolling out its first products in the next two years.
The $13 billion global power sports market is slowly coming around to electric drivetrains, and BRP, which owns popular brands like Ski-Doo snowmobiles, Sea-Doo watercraft, Ryker ATVs, and Rotax go-karts, is trying to position itself at the forefront of the movement.
“We have always said electrification was not a question of ‘if’ but a question of ‘when,’” said José Boisjoli, BRP president and CEO, in a statement. “Today, we’re very excited to unveil more details of our plan to deliver market-shaping products that will enhance the consumer experience by offering new electric options.”
BRP will use a “modular electric power pack” developed by its sub-brand, Rotax, across its new lineup of electric power sports vehicles. To accommodate the new production commitment, the company will spend some of its $300 million retrofitting Rotax’s assembly facility in Austria, as well as building a brand-new electric vehicle development center in Quebec, where BRP is headquartered.
This won’t be BRP’s first time developing electric vehicles. In 2019, the company acquired Alta Motors, an electric motorcycle manufacturer, and introduced its first EV, the Rotax Sonic e-kart, which is currently in use at the Rotax Max Dome in Linz, Austria.
BRP isn’t the only power sports company racing to develop more electric vehicles. Polaris and Zero Motorcycles are partnering to co-develop electric vehicles, including ATVs and snowmobiles. Electric trucking company Nikola Motor has released concept versions of an electric watercraft and an electric off-roader called the NZT. Tesla has also teased an electric ATV called the Cyberquad. And Volkswagen has revealed plans to make an electric dune buggy, the ID Buggy, which is based on the old Meyers Manx kits from the 1960s.
