BMW AG has announced that it will exit the Formula E championship after the 2020-21 season. With this, BMW becomes the second manufacturer to resources away from the series after Audi which recently announced its Formula E exit. The luxury and sports carmaker said in a statement that the money saved from the seven-year involvement in Formula E would be better spent in the development of electric vehicles for the consumer market.
A single-seater race series, Formula E is in its seventh season. It is Formula car racing but with fully electric powertrains with regenerative braking. The races are held on street circuits in Chile and Saudi Arabia.
BMW have won four races in the series since 2014 but state that the opportunities to bring technologies from the Formula E race cars to passenger electric cars have been exhausted. Audi cited the same reasons for its exit from the series.
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BMW is increasing focus on electric vehicles as it takes the fight to the likes of Tesla and also Volkswagen. It has now been seven years since BMW introduced its first electric car – the i3 hatchback – but has since shifted focus on plug-in hybrids.
The manufacturer is bringing the spotlight back on EVs with the launch of the BMW iX SUV which was unveiled just last month. The electric SUV is expected to go on sale in the second half of next year as BMW’s first car built on a dedicated EV platform since the BMW i3.
