.gif)
Electric car racing might not be popular enough for its own Netflix show (yet), but Formula E cars are blossoming into stars for the legacy automakers that own them.
Driving the news: As the hype around Formula One continues to dominate the racing world, its less exciting but environmentally friendly sibling Formula E is becoming ground zero for the innovations that are fuelling the EV race off the track, according to Reuters.
-
Automakers like Porsche, Nissan, and Stellantis are investing in battery and software tweaks that trickle down to consumer EVs, making them cheaper and more efficient.
- Jaguar Land Rover, which is investing US$19 billion to catch up to its EV rivals, will use carbon technology developed for its Formula E car in its new premium EVs.
Catch-up: Car racing has long been the test bed for developments that end up in everyday vehicles. In fact, we have race cars to thank for innovations like hybrid engines, rearview mirrors, the push button ignition, and — everyone’s favourite — steering wheel buttons.
Why it matters: With automakers increasingly looking for an edge to improve efficiency, performance and profit margins in a crowded EV space, Formula E has become a proxy race for those looking to make a breakthrough that separates them from their competitors.
-
Jaguar already uses battery regeneration technology from its Formula E cars in road vehicles and has boosted range by 20 kilometres just by using temperature control.
- Stellantis does much of the same and shares insights from its Formula E engineering team across its 14 brands, including household names like Jeep, Ram, and Chrysler.
How it works: For example, Formula E cars begin each race with only 60% of the battery needed to make it across the finish line, a challenge that forces engineers to generate more battery power and range. Those developments are then often adapted for consumer models.
- Formula E engineers have been able to provide extra battery life and range by building and improving a system that regenerates power through braking.
Bottom line: EV adoption has been slow, in part, because of range and charging anxiety. So when Formula E teams make big leaps forward, it could result in a winning car off the racetrack.—LA