Can Formula E fast-track mainstream EV uptake?

Motor racing has long served as a test bed for cutting-edge innovation that could eventually trickle down into road vehicles. The shift towards electrification has only continued this technology transfer, with Formula E innovations helping to pave the way for mass market zero-emission transportation. While the demanding conditions of the track are a far cry from what an electric vehicle (EV) faces on the public road network, racing’s developments around battery performance, energy efficiency, charging, lightweighting, and testing could all make a pivotal contribution to the bigger e-mobility picture.

Directly transferable

That’s the thinking for most racing participants, including driveline specialist GKN Automotive. The supplier is the official eDrive partner for Jaguar TCS Racing and most recently helped develop the electric powertrain for the I-Type 6 model, which ran in Formula E’s 2023 season. “Racing is very important to our wider R&D efforts,” says Mike Soumelidis, GKN’s Director of Advanced Engineering. “The focus is admittedly different—in motorsport you are there to win—but the technology and the foundations are the same and the tools are directly transferable.”