Taiga Motors, a budding Quebec-based maker of electric recreational vehicles, now has an international-recognized symbol of its product quality and craftsmanship: a red dot.
Taiga Motors wins the Red Dot product design award for their all-electric Orca personal water craft
Taiga Motors, a budding Quebec-based maker of electric recreational vehicles, now has an international-recognized symbol of its product quality and craftsmanship: a red dot.
Earlier this week, the company announced it had won the Red Dot Award: Product Design 2020 for the Taiga Orca, a jet-ski like watercraft, which was unveiled last September.
“The winners of the Red Dot Award have proved that they have created excellent products worthy of winning an award. The products won over the jury not only through their aesthetic, but also thanks to their incomparable functionality,” said Peter Zec, founder and CEO of Red Dot in a press release. “With their designs, the award winners are setting new standards in their industry.”
Thousands of products considered
Over 6,500 products were considered for Red Dot awards from companies in 60 different countries. Red Dot Awards have been given out since 1955 in three categories: the mentioned Product Design, as well as Brand and Communication and Design Concept.
“I could not be prouder of the team behind Orca and thank Red Dot for acknowledging the great efforts that went into a clean sheet approach that broke away from traditional PWC designs,” says Taiga’s chief executive, Samuel Bruneau.
Designed for personal use, the Orca was developed to help curb the environmental impact that water recreation vehicles often have. As Electric Autonomy reported following the craft’s 2019 introduction, Taiga wanted to “meet, and further stoke, buyers’ appetite for clean, technically advanced and — especially important in the US$10-billion-plus global ‘powersports’ market.”
A zero-emission vehicle, the Orca is equipped with many different features, including a carbon-fibre hull and top deck, floating seat, built-in GPS and WiFi. It also runs on a lithium-ion battery with a standard voltage of 400 volts and can be charged at automobile chargers, reaching 80 per cent in 20 minutes.
Production units planned this year
Taiga has not yet announced a date when it begin shipping the Orca, but plans call for the first production units to come off the assembly line this year.
On June 22, Taiga will have another reason to celebrate; the Orca will be part of the Design on Stage exhibition at the Red Dot Design Museum Essen and an online virtual exhibit.
More information on the Orca, the other winners and the exhibits can be found on the Red Dot website.
