By Jon Crowley
More than a decade before electric side-by-sides became a significant part of the UTV market, BRP announced plans to produce and sell an electric vehicle based on the original Can-Am Commander.
BRP revealed the production plan on March 27, 2012. The company said it would assemble specialized vehicles at a new facility in Sherbrooke, Quebec, serving governments, municipalities, institutions and other customers with requirements not addressed by its standard product lineup.
The most historically interesting vehicle associated with the program was the battery-powered Can-Am Commander.
BRP’s Early Electric Commander Project
BRP had displayed an electric Commander prototype during Club BRP in Montreal in 2011. According to the company, favorable reactions from dealers, distributors and the media encouraged it to move forward with marketing the vehicle.
The Commander electric vehicle was developed with technology from the Centre de technologies avancées BRP–Université de Sherbrooke. BRP said the first vehicle would go to the University of Sherbrooke, its partner in the advanced-technology center.
The company planned a phased rollout beginning July 1, 2012, through selected BRP dealers in Quebec, Ontario and Alberta. Initial U.S. markets were expected to include California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Texas and Virginia.
This was a specialized and limited-distribution program rather than a replacement for the gasoline-powered Commander or a conventional addition to every Can-Am dealer’s inventory.
Can-Am Commander Electric Specifications
The electric Commander retained much of the original vehicle’s chassis, cockpit and practical dual-level cargo-box layout, but replaced its Rotax V-twin and continuously variable transmission with an electric powertrain.
- Motor: 48-volt, air-cooled AC induction motor
- Peak output: Approximately 30 horsepower
- Top speed: 40 km/h, or approximately 25 mph
- Standard battery: Maintenance-free lead-acid battery pack
- Available battery: Optional lithium battery configuration
- Claimed range: 40 to 160 km, or approximately 25 to 100 miles
- Charging: Connection to a standard household electrical outlet
- Braking: Regenerative braking system
- Drivetrain: Selectable four-wheel drive
- Cargo capacity: 600-pound dual-level cargo box
The unusually broad claimed range reflected the different battery configurations as well as operating speed, terrain, temperature and driving conditions. Vehicles using the standard lead-acid battery system occupied the lower end of that range, while the optional lithium configuration was intended to increase range and reduce charging time.
Specialized Vehicles Built in Sherbrooke
The new Sherbrooke operation was not dedicated exclusively to electric UTVs. BRP said it would also build gasoline-powered vehicles modified for specialized applications, including vehicles ordered for customers in the Middle East.
The facility was expected to begin with 20 employees and expand according to demand. BRP planned to recruit selected dealers from its existing network and gradually broaden distribution using an approach similar to the one employed for the Can-Am Spyder roadster.
An Electric UTV Ahead of Its Time
The Commander electric project did not develop into a mainstream Can-Am model family. Nevertheless, it remains an important piece of UTV history. BRP was publicly developing and preparing to distribute an electric side-by-side when most of the industry was still focused almost entirely on gasoline-powered utility and recreational vehicles.
The project also demonstrated how adaptable the first-generation Commander platform could be. In addition to the standard recreation-utility models, BRP used the platform as the basis for electric, institutional and other specialized vehicles.
Learn more about the two generations of the vehicle in our complete Can-Am Commander history, or explore additional concepts and discontinued machines in the historical UTV model archive.
