Nissan will become "the first Japanese car manufacturer competing in Formula E" with an entry in the '18-19 season of the electric car racing series, "replacing alliance partners Renault," according to Alan Baldwin of REUTERS. Renault, whose e.dams team has been Formula E champion three years in a row, said in a statement that it would leave at the end of the '17-18 season next July to focus on Formula 1. Renault EVP, Sales & Marketing Thierry Koskas said, "After season four we will focus resources on our aggressive goals for Formula 1 and we look forward to continuing to gain benefits from motorsport racing across the Alliance with Nissan." The French carmaker said that it would work with Nissan "to ensure a smooth transition." Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag said in a statement, "It's great to see our first Japanese manufacturer entering the frame, showing truly how global the electric revolution is" (REUTERS, 10/25). THE VERGE's Sean O'Kane reported Formula E "was only started" in '14, but "major manufacturers have been flocking" to it, "and for a number of reasons." It is a "relatively low financial commitment as far as motorsports go," so involvement in Formula E "is seen as a low-risk way" to promote a company's electric vehicle efforts to a "new, younger audience." Companies like Audi and Porsche, "which have both been implicated in diesel emissions scandals, even quit or reduced their presence in more expensive (and more traditional)" motorsports series to make the switch. Formula E "is also a place for these companies to test certain parts of their electric drivetrain technologies." The series only allows the manufacturers to develop a "limited amount of the tech that powers the cars, but the series plans to expand what carmakers can tinker with as the seasons go by" (THE VERGE, 10/24).
