Industry Voices | ‘Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday’: Can It Apply To EVs?

Ever since Henry Ford entered and won the 1901 “Sweepstakes” Race against the foremost driver of his day to convince investors his second attempt at founding a car company would be a winner, auto racing has been an integral part of automotive retail.  So, I guess it's no surprise that professional battery-electric-vehicle racing is happening, with some of the top teams in pro racing and fan base growing all over the world.

I was fortunate enough to attend my first ABB FIA Formula E World Championship race a few weeks ago in Portland, OR, its only U.S. stop in the series for Season 10. And I can say anyone who left that race unimpressed with the power and instant torque of a BEV wasn’t paying attention.

The all-electric series, launched in 2014, has become the fastest-growing series in motorsport, and was elevated to World Championship status as of Season 7.

It’s no secret that it was created with the primary purpose of accelerating the adoption of BEVs, promoting sustainability and raising awareness of the benefits of driving electric.

What may not be well known is its worldwide scope. ABB FIA Formula E has a 10-stop tour that starts in Mexico City in January and races around the world (Tokyo, Monaco, Berlin, Shanghai, London to name a few cities), with teams from prominent OEMs (Porsche, Jaguar, Nissan, etc.) and U.S. racing legends such as Penske Autosport and Andretti.

It also garners a who’s who of world-class sponsors, including Hankook, Bosch and DHL. The title partner, ABB, is a 140-year-old Swiss company (over 100 years in the U.S.) and a leader in electrification and automation, with a hand in everything from charging infrastructure for vehicles, buses, smart cities power plants and even tugboats.

Formula E racing doesn’t lack excitement. In Portland both drivers of the Jaguar team were ahead for most of the race, then the driver in the lead spun out and the second driver was penalized, leaving Porsche to claim the win.

What needs getting used to, unlike good old ICE racing, is the sound the BEVs make as they zip around the track; no ear protection is necessary here, just a distinctly different sound that has been described as “a mix between a fighter jet and something straight out of Star Wars.”

However you describe the sound, I think more racing fans will be hearing it.

As part of NASCAR IMPACT, NASCAR’s plan to reduce its own carbon footprint to zero by 2035, the ABB NASCAR Electrification Innovation Partnership was just announced, where both parties will explore high-performance electric racing and create new strategic opportunities for electrification in the sport, including racing vehicles, electrification infrastructure and energy education. With this, NASCAR launched its first BEV race car at the July 7 NASCAR Chicago Street Race.

The prototype race car, created in collaboration with Ford, Chevrolet and Toyota, looks almost indistinguishable from traditional race cars, except of course, that sound…

So, if the old adage is true to form, the new motivation for BEV purchases may be excitement from seeing fantastic race cars speed around the track, rather than just curtailing global warming. 

We shall see.