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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

BRP Establishes Valcourt, Quebec, Electric Vehicle Development Centre

03/26/2021
A leader in the world of powersports vehicles, propulsion systems and boats, BRP will invest $300 million to offer electric models in each of its product lines by the end of 2026, at the newly created Electric Vehicle Development Centre in Valcourt, Quebec, Canada.

According to company officials, to achieve this BRP plans to invest in product development, specialized equipment, infrastructure, production tooling and facilities. The facility will feature state-of-the-art equipment, including several sophisticated test benches and dynamometers, plus an ultramodern robotized manufacturing cell for electric batteries.

After developing and evaluating several concepts, BRP said it has made the bold decision to develop its Rotax modular electric powerpack technology which will be leveraged across all product lines enhancing the consumer experience by offering new electric options. To achieve this, BRP is expanding its Rotax electric power unit development infrastructure in Gunskirchen, Austria, and is also creating the BRP Electric Vehicle Development Centre, located in its hometown of Valcourt, Quebec, Canada.

"We are thrilled to create our EV expertise centre, taking steps into the world of electrification,'' said Bernard Guy, Senior Vice-President, Global Product Strategy. "Experts on our EV team will feel the agility of a startup environment but will benefit from BRP's financial resources and state-of-the-art equipment to design our in-house technology.” BRP is creating an Electric Vehicle Development Centre in Canada, which will focus on the "energy side": the charger and the battery pack, as well as the complete integration into the vehicle, and a second pole of development in Austria, which will focus on the "torque side": the inverter and the high performance electric motor.

The company said its R&D electric vehicle team is expanding quickly, and BRP is recruiting for several positions as it moves to the next phase of its electric propulsion technology development. With involvement from Quebec, Austria, Finland and the United States, BRP's top talent worldwide, including hundreds of engineers and specialized technicians, will work together to develop and produce electric vehicles at BRP.

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