Geographically speaking, where you live makes a big difference in what the cultural sentiment is like about electric vehicles. Sweden is one of the fastest-growing countries in the world as far as battery-electric vehicle adoption is concerned. In December 2023 alone, the country saw BEVs make up a full 63.1 percent of new vehicle registrations.
With public sentiment so high, it's not surprising that a startup like Vidde Mobility was born in Sweden in 2021. It's not interested in making cars, though, or even bikes (at least not so far). Instead, it's been busy working on its first electric snowmobile design, and it didn't hesitate to call in Pininfarina to help with the heavy lifting of creating a striking minimalist design.
Just look at it.
To be fair, that's kind of Sweden's national aesthetic. While we can't say for certain whether it felt that it had the hopes of a nation resting on its shoulders, what we can say is that the Vidde Alfa comes with some lofty ambitions attached. The company is marketing it as the "world's cleanest snowmobile," and claims that it produces less than 100 grams of CO2 per kilometer.
Of course, any and all OEMs can make whatever claims they like; it's how independent testing after the vehicle is out in the wild turns out that will tell the truest tale. There are plans for other electric snowmobiles in the works, most notably the grizzled snow veterans over at Ski-Doo.
But for now, those have yet to materialize, and are still located firmly in the future.
Vidde Mobility says that it's been testing its pre-production Alfa during the 2023-2024 season, with plans to enter the full production and shipment phase later in 2024. On February 18, 2024, it opened preorders on its website. What's the final price going to be? A cool €26,200, which works out to about $28,545 as of March 15, 2024.
The test mules have the following specs, which may change prior to production:
- Level 2 charging in 3.5 hours
- An electric motor that produces a claimed 175 horsepower and 400 newton-meters (about 295 pound-feet) of torque
- Towing capacity (continuous tow) of 270 kilograms (about 595 pounds)
- Lowest start temp is -35 degrees Celsius (about -31 Fahrenheit)
We'll be interested to see how it does once it's out in the hands of riders, as well as any reviewers that Vidde invites to test it out (nudge, nudge). With Sweden and other Scandinavian countries over at the high end of EV adoption, it's clear that the challenges of sorting out EV batteries and cold weather aren't completely insurmountable.
Why shouldn't a snowmobile from Sweden be the next move forward?
Gallery: Vidde Alfa Electric Snowmobile designed by Pininfarina
