Five years after announcing plans to launch an electric Jet Ski by the end of 2026, personal watercraft market leader Sea-Doo has confirmed it has pulled the plug on the idea – for now.
In March 2021, Sea-Doo’s parent company BRP said it would introduce electric power to each vehicle line-up – three-wheeler bikes, off-road buggies, and personal watercraft.
However, after years of silence Sea-Doo has confirmed it will not launch an electric watercraft this year – and future plans are uncertain.
At the global Sea-Doo dealer conference in Orlando Florida, USA last week a senior Sea-Doo product planner told Watercraft Zone:
“We did a lot of testing on an electric (watercraft) and our main result brought us to think that this is not the solution for on the water,” said Cristian Comtois, the global product strategy manager for Sea-Doo.
Above: Canadian start-up Taiga had a stalled start with its electric Jet Ski program.
“There is not a lot of riding range, plus you get range anxiety actually because you see the remaining battery percentage going down.
“There is limited ability to recover energy. It’s not like a car where you can recover energy when braking or going downhill
“On a watercraft there is always drag (friction) and that uses a lot of energy.
Above: The Sea-Doo GTI-E concept unveiled in March 2021.
“This was our main learning, and so this project is on the side and we don’t look at it right now.”
When asked how much testing was conducted and how long the electric Sea-Doo was in development, the executive said:
“We did several years of testing and development with our advanced concept team, to explore the concept, but the conclusion for now is that it is not the right time, we need the technology to develop.”
Above: Taiga’s production facility for electric Jet Skis.
When asked if there might be an electric Sea-Doo one day, the executive said:
“I think the question is when, not if (an electric model comes). When the technology will improve we might start seeing a shift towards electrification, but right now this project is on pause.”
Above: Taiga said it had found ways to ensure electrical safety when recharging on the water.
When Sea-Doo floated the idea of an electric model it based the concept on the popular mid-size Sea-Doo GTI series.
A computer-generated image released by Sea-Doo in late March 2021 depicted an electric craft with an E GTI logo.
Above: A prototype of the Taiga electric Jet Ski at the 2022 Sydney Boat Show.
However, Sea-Doo had in fact been experimenting with an electric model even prior to its 2021 announcement.
Dealers were shown an early prototype of an electric Sea-Doo at their annual convention in Las Vegas in late 2019.
Above: The Narke ElectroJet concept.
Start-up companies such as Narke and Taiga have, at separate times, tried to launch electric Jet Skis – but with limited success.
After unveiling a concept at the 2022 Sydney Boat Show (pictured above), Taiga announced in 2023 it would launch in Australia.
However those plans were axed after Taiga filed for bankruptcy.
Above: An X-Ray view of an electric personal watercraft design by Narke.
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