Electric off-road vehicle manufacturer Taiga Motors Inc. is building an assembly facility in the City of Shawinigan, Qué.
Scheduled for completion in 2022, the company says the plan represents an investment to accelerate the mass-production of Taiga electric snowmobiles, personal watercraft and side-by-side vehicles, which are expected to be ready for production in 2022.
“This facility, a part of the $185M in recently announced funding, will bolster Taiga into becoming a globally leading OEM for powersports vehicles,” said Samuel Bruneau, CEO of Taiga. “We have seen strong customer demand limited by product availability. This new facility shows Taiga’s continued commitment to be trailbreakers and offer electric vehicles capable of diving mass-market adoption without compromise.”
This facility will support Taiga’s manufacturing processes through its modular vehicle platforms for optimized production output. Snowmobile and personal watercraft production is expected to begin immediately following build completion. The facility is expected to increase Taiga’s production capacity to 80,000 units by 2025.
Taiga’s initial production acceleration is well underway in Taiga’s current Montréal Research & Development facility, which is expected to ramp-up production capacity to 2,000 vehicles per year by the end of 2021.
The Shawinigan plant represents Taiga’s second phase of production capacity increases. The facility will house 200,000 sq. ft. of production capacity, with an eventual increase to 340,000 sq. ft. Taiga intends to begin construction in the second quarter of 2021, following its listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange in connection with its proposed merger with Canaccord Genuity Growth II Corp.
The company says Shawinigan provides multiple advantages, with strong logistical infrastructure and a talent pool for future growth. As Shawinigan is an established technology hub, it will accelerate Taiga’s vision for a vertically integrated local supply chain.
“It’s always a pleasure to receive advocates and entrepreneurs who wish to establish themselves in Shawinigan. Especially when it’s a start-up that has developed in our entrepreneurial ecosystem and is part of one of our four pillars of economic diversification: Energy Efficiency and Green Technologies. Shawinigan welcomes the entire Taiga Motors team,” said Michel Angers, Mayor of Shawinigan.
