Mercedes will race in the 2019/2020 Formula E championship - but will fund its assault by withdrawing from the DTM touring car championship at the end of 2018.
Mercedes will race alongside manufacturers including Audi, BMW, DS, Jaguar, Mahindra, NextEV and Renault in the series, which is increasingly attracting car makers eager to market their electric powertrain prowess. The VW Group is said to be considering entering a second brand in Formula E as well as Audi, although it is not clear if this will be Porsche or Skoda. Mercedes has also confirmed it will continue its efforts in Formula 1.
A Mercedes statement confirmed that it would be joining Formula E in the interests of accelerating the development of its future lineup of EQ-badged electric road cars.
Jens Thiemer, Vice President of marketing at Mercedes-Benz, said: “Formula E is a significant step in order to demonstrate the performance of our attractive battery powered electric vehicles, as well as giving an emotional spin to our EQ technology brand through motorsport and marketing.”
Mercedes motorsport boss, Toto Wolff, described Formula E as “a brand new form of racing that reflects a rapidly changing automotive landscape”.
Mercedes, which so far has shown a pure electric SUV concept named EQ, will unveil a hatchback variant of the same name at the Frankfurt motor show in September. Like Volkswagen’s ID range of electric cars, the EQ lineup is expected to cover all major segments of cars on sale.
Talking about Mercedes's departure from DTM, Wolff said" “Our years in the DTM will always be held high as a major chapter in the motorsport history of Mercedes."
Read more:
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Audi enters Formula E as factory team
Audi Sport announces Dieter Gass as new motorsport boss
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Good news
I enjoy watching Formula E more than Formula 1 these days anyway. Rosberg to drive?
Bye bye F1.
I have been a huge F1 fan over the years, but since the introduction of the turbo hybrid era, my interest has dwindled to the point, where I hardly ever watch it and if I do, I don't watch the whole race. For me, the noise of the race car or bike, is such a alerted part of the excitement and by gradually reducing it, for me , takes away a large part of the experience. I've tried to watch Formula E, just doesn't do anything for me, so if this is the future, then I guess I'll nolonger bother to watch. The Halo contraption is another nail in the F1's coffin, not being able to see the driver properly
Right now, motorcycle racing is the most exciting, fantastic engine noise, brilliant overtaking and a very visual rider control, it's simply noisy and very exciting. Did I say noisy and exciting. So bye bye F1 and FE, hello MotoGP.
i fear for the future though, if electric, robotic, autonomous racing is the future, then motorsport is dead!
Perhaps, in several years, it
Perhaps, in several years, it will be untenable for a great constructor to do racing with a petrol engine AND to risk the life of a pilot.