Canadian company Taiga Motors launched three new electric snowmobile models this month to target the many European ski resorts that have committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The Montreal-based company says it has shipped around 2,000 units to date to countries such as France and Norway, with Alpine tourism its fastest-growing market.
“We’ve spent a decade building the core technology from scratch — the motors, the software, the battery systems — because it simply didn’t exist for this kind of vehicle,” Samuel Bruneau, co-founder and CEO of Taiga Motors, told Skift.
Around 90% of emissions in Europe’s ski and snow tourism sector are tied to diesel-powered snow groomers as they typically run all day long and on diesel. Snow making and other mountain vehicles also add to the impact, according to the French ski association, Domaines Skiables de France.
Against a backdrop of the 2037 targets of zero emissions from Domaines Skiable
