GENEVA – Nissan has taken the next steps toward its debut in the all-electric ABB FIA Formula E Championship by revealing its concept livery at the Geneva Motor Show.
At last year's Tokyo Motor Show, Nissan – the world's leading mass-market zero-emission vehicle manufacturer – announced it would debut in Formula E from season five which is expected to begin in December 2018.
As part of today's announcement, Nissan unveiled its color scheme for the season five Formula E car, which features striking new aerodynamics and an entirely new battery and powertrain package.
The livery for Nissan's Formula E program was designed by Nissan's Global Design team in Japan.
"At first glance the season five Formula E car looked to our design team like an EV-powered supersonic bird in flight," said Alfonso Albaisa, senior vice president of global design at Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. "Naturally this initial reaction from the team started us on a path that captured a sense of a form breaking free of resistance and gravity. Formula E racers are virtually silent, with explosive speed bursts thus naturally we turned to Doppler when designing the livery. The combination of the sonic pulse of the Doppler effect and the released power of a sonic boom inspired our celebration of EV Racing!"
The new package provides more power, more range and eliminates the need for the mid-race car swap which has been used in the first four seasons of the championship.
"Nissan is proud to be an innovator in electric vehicles on the road with the Nissan LEAF completing more than four billion zero-emission kilometers around the world*. Now, we want to bring that EV expertise to motorsport," said Jose Munoz, Chief Performance Officer, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
"The new Formula E car is being shown live in public for the first time this morning, and we're very excited to reveal Nissan's livery for our debut. The ability for Nissan to use this championship as a key development platform for our EV technologies and to be able to race in major city centers around the world makes it a perfect vehicle for us to showcase Nissan Intelligent Mobility."
Nissan Intelligent Mobility is the company's strategy to redefine how its vehicles are driven, powered and integrated into society.
While the new Nissan Formula E car livery was revealed for the first time today, work has been underway on developing the all-new technical package for many months as Nissan prepares for its debut.
Nissan is working with its partner Renault to leverage expertise and development already available, in keeping with the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi automotive partnership's focus on collaboration and maximizing synergies to boost competitiveness. Additional details, including structure and drivers, will be announced at a later time.
"Nissan is bringing a lot to the table with our expertise in EV technology for the road and bringing it to the race track, said Nissan global motorsport director, Michael Carcamo.
"The level of competition in the Formula E championship is on the rise and we're eagerly awaiting the unique engineering challenge ahead. We're entering the championship on a level playing field this year with every manufacturer competing with a brand new car, battery and powertrain combination from season five."
Season five of the ABB FIA Formula E championship is expected to visit major international cities including Hong Kong, Berlin, Zurich, Rome and New York. The new car that will debut in season five is scheduled to race in the Formula E championship for the next three seasons.
Further details regarding Nissan's drivers and other technical and marketing partners for its Formula E debut are expected to be announced later this year.
*Total based on estimates from Nissan's Global Data Center (GDC). The total distance travelled by Nissan LEAFs globally is an assumption based on data gathered from Nissan LEAFs registered with NissanConnect EV, approx. 50% of global total sales.
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About Nissan in the UK
- Nissan Sunderland Plant produces the Nissan Qashqai, Juke, Infiniti Q30 and the 100% electric Nissan LEAF
- Production of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles began in 2012
- Total plant volume since 1986 stands at more than 9 million units with 80 per cent of production exported to over 100 markets worldwide
- Total investment made and announced since then is over £4.0 billion
- 495,645 units were produced at Sunderland plant in 2017
- Employment in Nissan's UK design studio (Paddington, London), technical centre (Cranfield Bedfordshire), manufacturing plant (Sunderland, Tyne and Wear) and sales and marketing operations (Maple Cross, Hertfordshire) now totals more than 8,000.
- A further 28,000 jobs in Nissan's UK supply chain and 4,000 in its UK dealer network takes the total British jobs supported by Nissan to more than 40,000
About Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
Nissan is a global full-line vehicle manufacturer that sells more than 60 models under the Nissan, INFINITI and Datsun brands. In fiscal year 2017, the company sold 5.77 million vehicles globally, generating revenue of 11.9 trillion yen. On April 1, 2017, the company embarked on Nissan M.O.V.E. to 2022, a six-year plan targeting a 30% increase in annualized revenues to 16.5 trillion yen by the end of fiscal 2022, along with cumulative free cash flow of 2.5 trillion yen. As part of Nissan M.O.V.E. to 2022, the company plans to extend its leadership in electric vehicles, symbolized by the world's best-selling all-electric vehicle in history, the Nissan LEAF. Nissan's global headquarters in Yokohama, Japan, manages operations in six regions: Asia & Oceania; Africa, the Middle East & India; China; Europe; Latin America; and North America. Nissan has a global workforce of 247,500 and has been partnered with French manufacturer Renault since 1999. In 2016, Nissan acquired a 34% stake in Mitsubishi Motors. Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi is today the world's largest automotive partnership, with combined sales of more than 10.6 million vehicles in calendar year 2017.
For more information about our products, services and commitment to sustainable mobility, visit nissan-global.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram,Twitter and LinkedIn and see all our latest videos on YouTube.
About Nissan in Europe
Nissan has one of the most comprehensive European presences of any overseas manufacturer, employing more than 17,000 staff across locally-based design, research & development, manufacturing, logistics and sales & marketing operations. Last year Nissan plants in the UK, Spain and Russia produced more than 660,000 vehicles including award-winning crossovers, commercial vehicles and the Nissan LEAF, the world's most popular electric vehicle. Pursuing a goal of zero emissions and zero fatalities on the road, Nissan is leading the field with its vision of Intelligent Mobility. Designed to guide Nissan's product and technology pipeline, this 360 degree approach to the future of mobility will anchor critical company decisions around how cars are powered, how cars are driven, and how cars integrate into society. Nissan is positioned to become the most desirable Asian brand in Europe.
About Nissan Formula E
Nissan will become the first Japanese automotive brand to compete in the all-electric FIA Formula E racing championship starting in late 2018. The innovative championship will be used to showcase Nissan Intelligent Mobility - Nissan's three-pillar strategy to redefine how its vehicles are driven, powered and integrated into society.
Nissan's entry into the electric street racing championship coincides with the launch of the new generation Formula E car which features striking new aerodynamics and an entirely new battery and powertrain package.
Season five of the Formula E series is expected to begin in December 2018 and visit major cities around the world including New York, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Zurich and Hong Kong. Nissan revealed its Formula E intentions at the 2017 Tokyo Motor Show and will showcase its concept livery at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show.
