Manufacturing electric boat motors in Europe at a competitive price, without compromising on quality or durability: this is the challenge TEMO is tackling with Open Machine Design. A new industrial design philosophy combining design to cost, simplicity, and repairability, brought to life with the launch of the T700 electric outboard motor.
Open Machine Design: Turning Design into a Competitive Advantage
How can we offer high-performance, durable, and affordable electric boat motors while keeping manufacturing in Europe?
Faced with increasingly fierce international competition, we at TEMO have chosen to rethink the way we design our products from the ground up.
Our answer is Open Machine Design, an approach that puts simplicity, modularity, and repairability at the heart of our industrial strategy.
Design to Cost: Smarter Engineering for More Competitive Manufacturing
In manufacturing, every part, every assembly operation, and every production step comes at a cost.
With Open Machine Design, we apply a design-to-cost approach: integrating cost targets from the earliest stages of product development rather than trying to cut costs once the product has already been designed.
This approach challenges us to question every element of the motor: Is it really necessary? Can it be simplified? Can assembly be made easier without compromising strength or performance?
Our philosophy: Cut complexity, not quality.
By reducing the number of parts and simplifying assembly, we can focus more of the product's value where it truly matters: high-quality materials, reliable components, and the best technologies available on the market.
The goal is not simply to manufacture at the lowest possible cost, but to allocate production costs more intelligently, delivering a more powerful, robust, and durable motor at a competitive price.
An Open Architecture, Built for Strength and Durability
With the new TEMO T700, we have rethought the traditional structure of an electric outboard motor.
Two structural aluminum side plates form the motor's backbone, directly supporting its main components: motor, electronics, removable battery, and user controls.
This open architecture, free from unnecessary housing, reduces the number of parts and simplifies assembly. It also makes components more accessible and replaceable, facilitating maintenance and repairs.
But simplicity does not mean compromising on technology. Quite the opposite. Savings achieved through structural simplification and streamlined assembly allow us to prioritize premium components: a brushless direct-drive electric motor, a robust aluminum frame, engineering-grade plastics selected for their resistance to demanding marine conditions, and shielded power cables.
Every material and component is selected for its purpose, reliability, and durability, meeting the needs of recreational boaters as well as the demands of intensive use.
The structure becomes the product. A clean, purposeful design that doesn't hide the technology but puts it to work for performance, strength, and repairability.
"We believe it is possible to manufacture competitive technology products in Europe without compromising on quality. The key is to build competitiveness into the design from the very beginning, rather than trying to cut costs once the product has been developed. Our ambition is not to make things cheaper at any cost, but to design smarter and deliver a better product at a better price." Stéphane L’Appartien, Industrial Director at TEMO
TEMO T700: A Highly Competitive European Electric Outboard Motor
The TEMO T700 is the first tangible result of this industrial philosophy.
Designed for sailboat tenders and small boats, this 700 W electric outboard motor features a removable 594 Wh battery and weighs just 10 kg, including the battery.
Priced at €1,390 (including VAT), it delivers a price-to-power ratio of €1.99/W and a price-to-battery-capacity ratio of €2.34/Wh.
For comparison, against a competing 500 W motor with a 378 Wh battery priced at €1,090, the T700 delivers 40% more rated power and 57% greater battery capacity, for a price increase of just 27.5%.
A clear demonstration of our ambition: delivering more value for every euro spent, while staying true to TEMO's core commitments: European manufacturing, robustness, repairability, and high-quality after-sales service
A New Design Philosophy for Future TEMO Motors
Beyond the T700, Open Machine Design is set to guide the development of our future electric propulsion systems.
Our ambition is to create motors that are simpler to manufacture, easier to maintain, and designed to evolve over time.
Because we believe that European industry's competitiveness can also be built through smarter design, without sacrificing quality or durability.
Alexandre SEUX & Justine PERUSSEL - co-founder of TEMO, based in Vannes, FRANCE
Discover the new TEMO T700 and our approach to electric propulsion.
