“We’re not making speculations. This is a real deal. It’s about to happen– it just needs the signature to be put on.”

A new EV startup plans to make southwestern Ontario its base of operations

Faruk K. Rama is a Londoner and the chairman of Trouvé Victory Incorporated. They are a new electric car company centred here in London, though recently moved to Toronto. Rama says he wants to make Canada the centre of EV technology– a dream shared by the CFO of the company, Peter Fredericks Monchuk.

“Our goal is to actually become a global powerhouse and make Canada the center of EV technology . . . We’re a Canadian company. We want to be a Canadian company.”

Those are big dreams, but Rama and Monchuk say that the ball is already rolling.

About 50 hectares of land is being eyed for a plant just outside of Toronto. Their goal is to have a facility that is completely self sustainable.

“What we’re actually going to be doing is creating a smart infrastructure within Trouvé as well. Raw materials will be able to come in on one end and finished vehicles will be able to come out the other,” Monchuk says. Canada, in that respect, is the perfect place for that.

“All the raw materials necessary to build new EV batteries are available here in this country– raw material form.”

The land deal is still going through, they say, but they are still on track for a 2023 production window. Though it seems a long way, Rama says that is just the beginning.

One of Trouvé’s 4 designs planned.

The stats

Trouvé have four models planned: a sedan, pickup truck, SUV, and utility vehicle. All models will be 100% recyclable. The stats that they are promoting for these vehicles are no joke either:

• 1000km on a single charge

• 18 minutes for a quick charge

• 4 hour full charge

For comparison, the 2022 Lucid Air Dream has the biggest range on the market right now: about 837km. Tesla, a more household name, comes in at #2 with their 2021 Model S– about 488km.

The cold, hard (freezing) truth about Canada

Whether Saskatchewan or Alberta, Canadian EVs have an uphill battle to climb for their consumers

Consumer reports on electric vehicles in Canada have not been favourable. Many report a loss in battery life in their EVs due to the cold weather. After that news broke, many Canadians have turned their back on the electric market today. Monchuk says that is something Trouvé engineers have thought about.

“20 to 25% of the battery life will end up being adjusted because of cold temperatures. That’s why we developed a vehicle which is going to go anywhere from 800 to 1000 kilometers per charge.”

Their answer to that is a more robust battery with a more convenient charging time. He says that long battery life plus short charge times should be enough to combat Canada’s winters.

The price and competition

Trouvé’s websites lists their brand as “luxury.” The  prices being thrown around are reportedly $65,000-$80,000. About the price, Rama says he wants everyone to be able to afford his vehicles.

“We will be making our cars as affordable as possible. However . . . the company has its own expenses. Everything will be priced at a fair price so that everyone can be able to afford our cars and be part of the global clean up our world.”

“We did not start this because of profits. We started this to have the power to clean up the world.”

And about competition, when asked why customers should buy Trouvé rather than a more landed brand, Rama responded:

“We encourage all the players. We wish Mr. Ford and Tesla– really all the players– all the best in that.”