Nissan wants to leverage EV tech development in Formula E for its electric cars

Similar to how Formula One acted as a test bed and helped advance technologies for the automotive industry, Nissan now wants to leverage EV tech development in the Formula E racing championship for its electric cars.

Disclosure: Nissan Europe paid for our trip down to Los Angeles for this event.

Last year, Nissan announced that they will be the first Japanese company to join the Formula E with its own team for the season 5 of the championship, which is expected to start in December.

They have since unveiled their ‘Nissan Formula E car’ in Geneva and taken it on tour in New York and now in Los Angeles this week.

Nissan Europe invited us to the event where Margot Robbie, the company’s electric vehicle and sustainability ambassador, Ana Paola Reginatto, Leaf product manager in Europe, and Michael Carcamo, Nissan’s global motorsport director, explained the reason behind the effort.

Of course, like other racing championships, it’s a marketing opportunity for automakers and the Formula E is currently gaining a lot of popularity.

But Nissan also expects to see improvements to EV technologies come out of the racing program.

Carcamo commented:

Entering the ABB FIA Formula E Championship gives Nissan a key development platform for our EV technologies. Using the same streets that our LEAF customers also commute on as race tracks has real benefits for customers – we’ll be able to take on real road conditions with our race cars – and we can share what we’ve learned as we tune our latest electric vehicles.

When talking to Electrek at the event, Reginatto added that she believes the efficiency requirements of a Formula E electric powertrain due to their limited size and weight can bring some important knowledge to Nissan’s engineer team.

Here are their presentations from the event:

Here’s a closer look at the Nissan Formula E car:

As we previously reported, the upcoming seasons of the Formula E are going to be even more exciting as the championship is introducing its new battery system that will enable drivers to go a full race without changing vehicles and they will allow teams to work on their own powertrain.

The changes have attracted several major automakers, like Nissan, to join the Formula E starting in Season 5 and Season 6.

The Formula E’s next race is planned for April 28 in Paris.