Formula E's positive development over the past two seasons was a contributing factor in BMW's decision to enter into a partnership with Andretti, BMW Motorsport Dir Jens Marquardt said. As part of a realignment of its motorsports activities, BMW earlier this week agreed to a two-year partnership with the Andretti Formula E team. BMW's decision to collaborate with Andretti has to do with the team's success across various North American motorsport series. "Andretti has become established as one of the real top teams in North American motorsport over recent decades, and has celebrated many great successes," Marquardt told SBD Global. "The name Andretti speaks for itself." In addition to its Formula E involvement, Andretti operates teams in IndyCar, Global Rallycross and Indy Lights. The German car manufacturer has been the official vehicle partner of Formula E since its inaugural '14-15 season. BMW's electric vehicle brand, BMW i, supplies the championship's safety and medical cars in the form of the i8 and i3, respectively. Marquardt said the partnership with Andretti is about more than putting a BMW sticker on the outside of the car. "We want to be more deeply involved," he said. "We are looking forward to our cooperation in the coming months. The fact of the matter is that we have decided to learn as much as possible about Formula E, as quickly as possible." BMW stated that it actively pursues a factory involvement in the series should it continue its positive progress. "The series has undergone good development in recent years, which we have followed closely," Marquardt said. "As a pioneer in the field of electric mobility, we know that we must forge new paths, while at the same time remaining true to our fundamental values. ... As such, we are pleased that we can now also give new impetus on the racetrack." The Munich-based car brand did not disclose any financial details about the partnership with Andretti. BMW's intention to join the series with a factory team for its fifth season (’18-19) coincides with Formula E's expectation to run the complete race distance with a single car. Currently, each driver has to switch cars during the race as batteries at the moment are not capable of lasting a whole race.
