Bombardier of Montreal has ventured into a new vehicle category with a product to be built in Canada and marketed in the southern United States.
The Bombardier Neighborhood Electric Vehicle was launched earlier this month. The company has already set up dealers in Ph’enix, Ariz.
Michel Boutin, vice-president, development for Bombardier’s Motorized Consumer Products Group, says the nev will be rolled out to California and Florida early in the new year after dealers in those states are selected and trained.
Although seniors’ and ‘gated’ communities are among the target markets for the nev, Boutin says it’s intended for anyone in residential or suburban areas needing a second vehicle for short-distance, slow-speed trips to neighborhood schools, merchants or friends’ homes.
The nev is a two-seat electric vehicle with four-wheel independent suspension, seat belts and a lockable rear trunk. It has a roof and windshield but no back or side windows.
The battery can be recharged in eight hours using a standard household 110-volt outlet. It has a range of 50 km/h on one battery charge and a top speed of 40 km/h.
The nev is also available with a golf option package that meets most national golf cart standards. The golf cart version comes equipped with different wheels and a reduced maximum speed of 25 km/h.
The retail price for the nev is us$6,699 or cdn$9,350.
The Bombardier Consumer Products Group makes Ski-Doo snowmobiles, Sea-Doo personal watercraft and jet boats, and the Celebrity line of traditional boats but d’es not already manufacture golf carts or other vehicles similar to the nev.
Boutin says the nev came out of two years of research that suggested there was pent-up demand for such a vehicle.
‘We found that people were using their golf carts for things other than on the golf course. They were using it on the street, and for their shopping. It was a growing area every year,’ says Boutin.
Because the target market for nev is very narrow, Boutin says there will be no mass marketing of the product. He says demonstrations and encouraging trial at the dealer level are crucial to the product’s success.
Advertising for nev is being handled by Motta of Ph’enix, Ariz.
nev won’t be alone in the electric vehicle marketplace. General Motors launched its new electric vehicle this month. The two-seater EV1 is being manufactured in a plant outside Detroit and is already being shipped to Saturn dealers in southern California and Arizona.
Honda and Nissan are also entering the market.
Honda will launch the made-in-Japan Honda EV four-passenger compact car in California in the Spring. The Nissan EV, a four-passenger compact van powered by the Nissan/Sony Lithium-ion battery, will be introduced to the California market in early 1998.
Other companies are modifying existing vehicles to be battery-powered, including the Ford Ranger EV pickup and Toyota’s RAV 4-EV sports utility vehicle.
Unlike Bombardier’s nev, these vehicles are automobiles. They have a longer range and reach speeds of up to 100 km/h. As well, they will be marketed primarily as fleet vehicles and offered only on a lease basis.
Boutin says nev will continue to have its own niche market.
‘Compare a car at $30,000 with our vehicle at about $7,000 u.s. It’s not in the same category at all,’ says Boutin.
‘If you need a vehicle for low-speed, short-distance, low-density traffic, then it becomes a good vehicle for you.’
