Official: Nissan will replace Renault in Formula E from 2018-2019

The announcement was made by Nissan at the Tokyo Motor Show and confirmed by Renault. Negotiations that had been ongoing within the Renault-Nissan group for some time have finally been concluded. The registration of the Japanese manufacturer is expected to be with the e-dams structure, already a partner of Renault since the inaugural season of the championship. Regarding the powertrain, the single-seaters of the new structure will be those developed by Renault but rebranded as Nissan.

This sudden change in strategy is justified by a desire for better allocation of resources between the two members of the group led by Carlos Ghosn. Renault is focusing on its commitment to Formula 1, while Nissan wants to rebuild an international competition program following the failure of the LMP1 project in the WEC.

Daniele Schillaci, Nissan’s vice-president of marketing, is delighted that Nissan is the pioneer among Japanese manufacturers in Formula E: « Nissan will be the first Japanese brand to enter this rapidly expanding championship, bringing our long history of performance in motorsport to the Formula E grid. »

Nissan is a major player in the electric vehicle industry with its LEAF model, which is number 1 in sales worldwide. This is one of the reasons for the brand’s commitment to the discipline: « It will give us a global platform to showcase our Nissan intelligent mobility strategy to a new generation of racing fans. Nissan’s DNA is rich in innovations in the field of electric mobility, not to mention a long history of success in motorsports. It makes sense for us to bring these two key elements together by competing in Formula E. »

The 2017-2018 season will see the arrival of two new manufacturers, BMW and Nissan, before Mercedes and Porsche join in the following season.

Alejandro Agag, CEO of the championship who wanted to see the arrival of a Japanese manufacturer in the category, believes that this announcement is an important moment for the discipline: “Having a name like Nissan on our side is an important day for the series. Not only is it great to welcome a new manufacturer to the Formula E family, but it’s also fantastic to see a first Japanese manufacturer enter the championship, demonstrating just how global the electric revolution is. Japan is a country at the forefront of new technologies with the biggest Formula E fans. The shift towards sustainable mobility is underway and inevitable. I look forward to seeing the Nissan logo adorn the new cars for the fifth season.”

As the final season of the Renault e-dams partnership looms, the duo has achieved a prolific record with three constructors’ titles and one driver’s title for Sébastien Buemi in three seasons. This season will be a transitional year between two chapters for the French team, but with goals that remain as high as ever.