ABB becomes title sponsor of Formula E

This is a first for a single-seater championship managed by the FIA: Formula E now has a title sponsor. It’s the same mechanism used by teams that take on the name of a sponsor, like Red Bull with Aston Martin or Sauber with Alfa Romeo in F1.

This practice of having a title sponsor for a championship is certainly new for a single-seater championship, but it is found in many other sectors. For instance, NASCAR in the United States has changed sponsors several times, including Monster Energy, which joined this year. Similarly, the French Ligue 1 football league is now sponsored by Conforama, while the English Premier League was partnered with Barclays between 2004 and 2016.

If ABB decided to partner with the electric car championship, it is because this aligns with the core of its activities, as the Switzerland-based company operates in product electrification, robotics, and electrical networks. This is why one of its robots unveiled the race car showcasing the new partnership.

For ABB, investing in the discipline is a way to showcase its products, starting with the rapid charging system for electric vehicles as well as the management of the electrical network required by these new uses of electricity. That’s why the partnership between the two parties includes both a financial contribution to be the title sponsor and technical cooperation to use the championship as a large-scale laboratory for the company.

It is thus interesting to note that it is a company specializing in business-to-business relations, the famous B2B in marketing jargon, that has decided to put itself forward and not a company that sells its products directly to the general public (B2C).

Indeed, while all car manufacturers and the media are currently discussing electric cars, it should not be forgotten that final sales remain at very low levels. Thus, electric vehicle sales only represent a small percentage of cars sold in France in 2017.

ABB positions itself in a field where numerous manufacturers are investing with the ambition of building relationships, specifically in the commercial development of solutions that support the expansion of this energy in the coming years.

This new partnership takes effect immediately and will therefore be prominently highlighted this weekend at the Marrakesh ePrix.

With the participation of www.racingbusiness.fr