Elan Yachts will offer Oceanvolt electric motors on all its yachts.

Marine electric motor manufacturer Oceanvolt announces the signing of an OEM contract with the series production yacht builder Elan Yachts. Its commercial director Christian Hallberg explains the importance of this agreement for the development of electric yachting and its inclusion in the OEM's strategy.

The Slovenian shipyard Elan Yachts and the manufacturer of electric motors for yachting Oceanvolt have formalized the signing of an OEM agreement. All the yachts of the different Elan ranges (GT, E-line and Impression) will be available with Oceanvolt electric motors. "It is one of the first monohull builders with whom we are signing an agreement for the entire range. We had already announced a partnership with Itacatamaran's multihulls, whose range is smaller. This is the beginning of the process with Elan but the objective is that the diesel engine will become the option and the electric motor the basic version in series" explains Christian Hallberg, Oceanvolt's sales director.

A change in the apprehension of the electric boat

For the head of the Finnish company, this is a milestone in the evolution of the yachtsmen's mentality. "It is a good advertisement for electric boating. We are at a point where there is a change in the mindset of boaters with regard to the electric motor. This offer is important for customers who are reluctant to choose electric propulsion on their boats. It's happening 2 to 3 years later than we thought, but it's getting off to a good start," says Christian Hallberg.

Towards the growth of the mass-produced electric sailboat

It is also a turning point for industrial management and the development of marine electric motor manufacturers. "The objective with Elan is 10 to 15 boats per year to start and more afterwards. Our current capacity is 100 systems per year, monohull or multihull, so that counts for 10%. The number of refit projects is always increasing, doubling every year. But the number of new boat projects that come to fruition is increasing even faster. These are mainly deliveries for a few boats at a time. With this OEM agreement and others to come, we will be able to accelerate in production boats, even if in our 30 - 50 foot niche, the number of engines remains low compared to speedboats" concludes the Oceanvolt sales director.

Briag Merlet Publié le 25-02-2021