- Revenue milestone of over $1
million reached with initial 40 personal watercrafts
delivered to consumers in Canada
during the third quarter of 2022
- Pre-order1 book exceeds three thousand mark with
3,267 pre-orders received as of September
30, 2022, marking a 39% growth compared to 2,356 units as of
December 31, 2021
- Taiga Service Provider ("TSP") program launched with 8 TSPs
signed to provide customers service and deliveries across 12
locations in Canada and
the United States
- Taiga's snowmobile and personal watercraft were both
included in TIME's Best Inventions of 2022
MONTREAL, Nov. 14,
2022 /CNW/ - Taiga Motors Corporation (TSX:
TAIG) ("Taiga" or the "Company"), a
leading electric off-road vehicle manufacturer, today reported its
financial and operating results for the Third Quarter of 2022
ending September 30, 2022.
Management Commentary
"The third quarter was another milestone quarter for Taiga. We
launched our second electric vehicle category, the Orca™ personal
watercraft, and delivered it to 40 customers in Canada. Every vehicle that leaves our facility
is proof of Taiga realizing its vision of electrifying one of the
toughest vehicle segments with technologically advanced vehicles
re-defining outdoor exploration. Our successful deliveries during
the third quarter culminated in Taiga recording its first ever
$1 million revenue quarter."
said Samuel Bruneau, CEO of
Taiga.
"Taiga's success is the result of our ability to adapt quickly
in the face of challenges. The third quarter presented supply chain
challenges which limited our ability to produce but gave us an
opportunity to review and revamp our production plan. We have made
strong progress in developing a high-volume supply base and
production process to help further our lead in electric
powersports. As such, we have revised our production plan for the
Montreal facility to soon allow
simultaneous production of the personal watercraft and snowmobile
for added flexibility. This is yet another benefit of our modular
approach to manufacturing our vehicles and powertrains."
"Our vehicles are like no other in the market. Taiga has
introduced cutting edge technology to powersports and has set
innovation standards for the future of off-road and marine
vehicles. On November 10, 2022,
Taiga's Nomad™ snowmobile and Orca personal watercraft were both
included in TIME's Best Inventions of 2022 in the Outdoors
category. Taiga was born to innovate, and TIME's recognition, along
with winning the Fast Company 2022 World Changing Ideas Awards in
May are both proof of the progress we've made in revolutionizing
powersports."
Taiga initiated the Taiga Service Provider program during the
quarter and signed on eight TSPs to provide customers service and
deliveries across 12 locations in Canada and the
United States. Taiga expects to scale its TSP network in
line with its delivery schedule for its vehicles in the upcoming
months.
Taiga has utilized real-world data from its connected
snowmobiles operating in fleets to further improve its snowmobile
platform. The upcoming Nomad has been enhanced with better handling
dynamics and chassis stiffness among other updates for improved
robustness and capability. The Company has also improved the
snowmobile platform's production efficiency through greater part
integration.
Taiga is currently manufacturing its personal watercraft, the
Orca, and expects to continue its production into the first half of
2023. Orca deliveries will continue in Canada and will be initiated in the southern
United States in the coming weeks.
Taiga will also begin production of its 2023 Nomad snowmobile in
the first quarter of 2023.
Following the close of the third quarter, on November 1, 2022, Taiga signed a repayable
contribution agreement with The Economic Development
Agency of Canada for the Regions
of Quebec for $10 million. This agreement is part of the
$50 million support previously
announced on July 12, 2021. The
purpose of the repayable contribution is to finance equipment and
support production ramp-up. The repayable contribution facility
will be disbursed on a milestone basis as the project progresses,
bears no interest and is repayable over 7 years after a moratory of
3 years from the project completion date. Taiga expects to access
up to $4 million over the next eight
months in support of its growth and production ramp up.
Taiga remains focused on three key areas of the business, which
include ramping up production and deliveries, building a culture of
high performance, and increasing its brand awareness. The future of
off-road is electric, and Taiga is committed to investing in and
manufacturing the next generation of off-road vehicles to
accelerate no-compromise access to the outdoors.
Third Quarter Financial Highlights (All amounts in
Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated)
- Revenue of $1.3 million recorded
during the third quarter of 2022. Taiga reported its initial
revenue of $141,461 during the first
quarter of 2022.
- Cash and cash equivalents of $31.2
million as at September 30,
2022, compared to $52.4
million as at June 30,
2022.
- Research & Development (R&D) expense (net of tax
credits) increased to $4.4 million
from $1.1 million compared to the
third quarter of 2021.
- General & Administration (G&A) expense increased to
$5.5 million from $2.7 million compared to the third quarter of
2021.
- Sales & Marketing (S&M) expense increased to
$1.3 million from $1.1 million compared to the third quarter of
2021.
- Net loss before other expenses for the period was $15.6 million compared to $4.9 million in the third quarter of 2021.
Third Quarter Operational
Updates
- Sold 40 personal watercraft units in the third quarter of 2022.
Taiga initiated deliveries for its electric vehicles on
March 18, 2022 and has sold 68
vehicles in the first nine months ended September 30, 2022.
- Pre-order book grew to 3,267 pre-orders received as of
September 30, 2022, marking a 39%
growth compared to 2,356 units as of December 31, 2021.
- Updated the production plan to improve efficiency at the
Montreal production facility,
which will soon be able to simultaneously produce the personal
watercraft and snowmobile for added flexibility.
- Initiated the TSP program with 8 TSP's activated across 12
locations in Canada and
the United States.
- Conducted almost 500 demonstration rides in Canada and the
United States for current reservations holders and
prospective customers over the summer of 2022.
- Headcount at 237 full time employees at the end of the third
quarter of 2022, with approximately half of the work force employed
in engineering.
Outlook
In 2022, production continues to remain limited by various
factors, such as, supply chain pressures, availability of raw
materials and other components, manufacturing process optimization
and volume related cost efficiencies. Taiga has invested in its
supply chain and inventory in order to de-risk certain key
components. As a result, it is now in a position to progressively
ramp up its weekly production later in the fourth quarter of 2022
with the expectation of delivering 2,500 to 3,500 units for 2023.
The current Orca production is expected to extend into the first
half of 2023 with the snowmobile production beginning in the first
quarter of 2023.
To support Taiga's growth and its various initiatives,
management is committed to secure additional sources of funds.
Taiga has signed an agreement with a government entity that will
provide the company access to a portion of the required funds in
support of Taiga's growth and production ramp up. Taiga continues
to proactively seek additional sources of funds and cannot be
certain that funds would be available to it on favorable terms when
required, or at all. See "Forward-Looking Statements" below and
"Business Risks" sections of the accompanying third quarter 2022
MD&A.
Conference Call
Taiga management will hold a conference call today (November 14, 2022) at 9:00
a.m. Eastern time (6:00 a.m. Pacific
time) to discuss these results.
Toll-Free Dial-In: +1 855-658-2585
International Dial-In: +1 514-375-0364
The conference call will be broadcast live and available for
replay here and via the Investor Relations section of
Taiga's website.
A telephonic replay of the conference call will be available
after 12:00 p.m. Eastern time on the
same day through November 21,
2022.
Toll-free replay number: +1 800-319-6413
International replay number: +1 604-638-9010
Replay ID: 9516
About Taiga
Taiga (TSX: TAIG) is a Canadian company reinventing the
powersports landscape with breakthrough electric off-road vehicles.
Through a clean-sheet engineering approach, Taiga has pushed the
frontiers of electric technology to achieve extreme power-to-weight
ratios and thermal specifications required to outperform comparable
high-performance combustion powersports vehicles. The first models
released include a lineup of electric snowmobiles and personal
watercraft to deliver on a rapidly growing demand from recreational
and commercial customers who are seeking better ways to explore the
great outdoors without compromise. For more information, visit
www.taigamotors.com.
Forward-Looking
Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking information"
within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation.
Such forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to,
information with respect to our objectives and the strategies to
achieve these objectives, the expected operations, financial
results and condition of the Company, expectations regarding market
trends, the Company's growth rates, the Company's future objectives
and strategies to achieve those objectives, including, without
limitation, organic growth and future acquisitions, expected
timelines for achieving mass production capabilities, the ramp-up
of its current facility and development of its second facility,
expected deliveries, the ability to obtain sufficient financing,
the ability to advance the Taiga Service Providers program in a
measured manner and the associated manufacturing benefits in
respect thereof, including increased capacity as well as
information with respect to our beliefs, plans, expectations,
anticipations, estimates and intentions.
This forward-looking information is identified by the use of
terms and phrases such as "may", "would", "should", "could",
"expect", "intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "plan", "foresee",
"believe", and "continue", as well as the negative of these terms
and similar terminology, including references to assumptions,
although not all forward-looking information contains these terms
and phrases. Forward-looking information is provided for the
purposes of assisting the reader in understanding the Company and
its business, operations, prospects and risks at a point in time in
the context of historical and possible future developments and
therefore the reader is cautioned that such information may not be
appropriate for other purposes.
We draw your attention to the "Key Factors Affecting Taiga's
Performance" section of the Company's management's
discussion and analysis for the three and nine-month periods ended
September 30, 2022 and to note 2 of
our unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements
that indicates the existence of material uncertainty that may cast
significant doubt on the Company's ability to continue as a going
concern. The Company's ability to continue as a going concern for
the next twelve months involves significant judgment and is
dependent on, among other things, its ability to obtain necessary
financing, either through a combination of public or private equity
or debt financing or other sources. Management is currently seeking
potential sources of financing. While the Company has been
successful in securing financing in the past and believes it will
be able to obtain sufficient funds in the future and ultimately
achieve profitability and positive cash flows from operations,
raising additional funds is dependent on a number of factors
outside the Company's control, as such there is no assurance that
it will be able to do so in the future.
Forward-looking information is based on a number of
assumptions and is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties,
many of which are beyond our control, which could cause actual
results to differ materially from those that are disclosed in, or
implied by, such forward-looking information. These risks and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the effective
further supply chain disruptions, and the impact of such
disruptions on ability to fulfil orders, pre-orders for the
Company's vehicles being cancelled and those described in the
Company's management's discussion and analysis for the three
and nine-month periods ended September
30, 2022, and under the "Risk Factors" section of the
Company's annual information form filed on March 28, 2022 on the Company's SEDAR profile at
sedar.com. Forward-looking statements reflect management's
current beliefs, expectations and assumptions and are based on
information currently available to management. Readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements, as there can be no assurance that the future
circumstances, outcomes or results anticipated or implied by such
forward-looking statements will occur or that plans, intentions or
expectations upon which the forward-looking statements are based
will occur. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve
known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those
contemplated by such statements.
All of the forward-looking information contained in this
press release is qualified by the foregoing cautionary statements,
and there can be no guarantee that the results or developments that
we anticipate will be realized or, even if substantially realized,
that they will have the expected consequences or effects on our
business, financial condition or results of operation. Unless
otherwise noted or the context otherwise indicates, the
forward-looking information contained herein is provided as of the
date hereof, and we do not undertake to update or amend such
forward-looking information whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable
law.
_____________________________
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1
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Pre-orders for new
Taiga vehicles are cancelable and the deposit fully refundable, and
there can be no assurance that such pre-orders will be converted
into sales.
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SOURCE Taiga Motors Corporation