In RACER Magazine: Electro-Magnetism

As other series struggle to keep manufacturers, or entice new ones in, Formula E is experiencing a manufacturer boom – and for good reasons.

Picture the scene. It's fall 2018 and a grid of 20-plus cars, comprised entirely of manufacturer entries, is assembled against the towering backdrop of the Hong Kong skyline. Season five of the FIA Formula E Championship is about to begin.

Not bad, is it? What may seem like a big step from Formula E's present is tantalizingly close in reality. The manufacturers are coming, and the electric revolution is real.

As its third season gets underway, Formula E is far ahead of its own expectations. It didn't envisage galvanizing this level of manufacturer support so early in the process. In addition to the factory Renault, Jaguar and DS (Citroen's luxury brand) operations, Audi has "intensified" its backing of ABT Schaeffler, and Andretti has struck an engineering deal with BMW.

Then there's a quartet of growing electric-vehicle manufacturers in Venturi, NextEV, Faraday Future and Mahindra, the Indian-based conglomerate behind the e2o electric city car. Only Techeetah, a Renault customer entry, remains as a true independent on the current 10-team, 20-car grid.

And that's only going to grow. Formula 1's dominant manufacturer, Mercedes, has secured an entry for the 2018/'19 season as it contemplates joining an expanded field. Audi's ramp-up of support for ABT is the precursor to a full factory program for the 2017/'18 campaign, the company describing it as a "technological spearhead" for an increasingly electric road car future following its WEC pullout. German rival BMW's Andretti partnership was struck with one eye very much on a full factory entry in time for 2018.

Nissan's "fact finding" mission into a Formula E entry, as it has called it, could manifest itself in shared powertrain tech with existing powerhouse Renault, with which it has an automotive alliance. Other prospective entrants include Volvo, which is keeping tabs on the series through its motorsport arm Polestar, and Porsche, reportedly one of the parties that was keen to supply the series' spec battery from 2018.

The answer to the question, "What's the appeal of Formula E?" is reasonably simple. It's relevant and it's affordable.

"Electrification will play a major role in the future of the automotive industry," said Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff when its reserved entry was announced. "Racing has always been a technology R&D platform for the industry, and this will make Formula E very relevant in the future."

With Audi targeting one in four road car sales being all-electric by 2025, Dr. Stefan Knirsh, a member of the company's board of management for technical development, noted, "Adapting our motorsport program and taking up a commitment in a fully-electric racing series is a logical move."

It was a similar story when Jaguar announced its Formula E entry last December: its strategy was changing, it was beginning development work on its first range of electric vehicles, and it needed a way to get the message out there.

In a sense, this is motorsport's past being revisited, with the "win on Sunday, sell on Monday" adage adapted for the modern age. Formula E is the way for these manufacturers to let the world know those vehicles exist, they're proven, and they have genuine capabilities. Like the old days.

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