Finland remains on my bucket list of places to go, albiet for some particularly "me" reasons.
See, as much as Finland is gorgeous, full of hospitable people, caribou I'd love to hunt, and the Northern Lights, if you want to learn any sort of motorsport, really learn it, you go to Finland. There's a reason why the old racing saying is "If you want to win, employ a Fin."
And I have to believe that's the case with snowmobiles, too, as BRP—the manufacturer of Lynx and Ski-Doo—is the dominant force within the country. So much so that the company just recently celebrated manufacturing its 500,000th snowmobile in Finland.
That's a lot of snowmobiles.
BRP manufacturers its Finnish snowmobiles at its Rovaniemi facility, which is waaaaaaaay up north from Helsinki. If you search the city's name up, the first result is a picture that almost looks AI-generated after inputting "picturesque Scandanavian city with a hint of Christmas spirit" or something.
Speaking ahead of the celebration, BRP's President and CEO José Boisjoli said, "Producing 500,000 snowmobiles in Finland is an accomplishment that I am very proud of. I want to thank BRP Finland's employees for their dedication as well as their ability and willingness to foster a culture of continuous growth and innovation. Their deep understanding of the Scandinavian riding conditions have been key to the success of both Lynx and Ski-Doo which now have a combined market share of over 70% in Scandinavia, and over 80% in Finland. As a company, we have been investing and believing in the power of local expertise for over 35 years now, to meet and exceed the needs and expectations of our Scandinavian and worldwide customers."
Additionally, BRP announced that the Rovaniemi facility would also be the home of the brand's entire electric snowmobile production, shipping out every model to every snowmobile market. At first, the EVs were only available through the brand's Uncharted Society adventure tours, then a handful of ski resorts around the world, but beginning this year, they'll start shipping to customers, too.
I'm eager to try them myself.
But 500,000 snowmobiles is a heck of an accomplishment, especially for one single manufacturing facility. And, again, the Fins know a thing or two about go-fast dynamics and racing on Sunday, winning on Monday. Based on my experience with the brand, yeah, there's some Finnish DNA in there. Now let me come to Finland, BRP!
