The Managing Director of Nissan Motor GB has spoken about the manufacturer’s commitment to the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship – saying it’s great that the brand is so heavily involved.
Andrew Humberstone was speaking at London’s ExCeL Arena after watching Nissan e.dams drivers Sébastien Buemi and Maximilian Günther compete in round 13 of the current series.
The season finale takes place tomorrow (August 13th) and on Sunday in Seoul, South Korea.
Nissan races in Formula E to bring the excitement and fun of zero-emission electric vehicles to a global audience. Its strategy involves the transfer of knowledge and technology between the racetrack and road to deliver better options for customers.
Humberstone said the championship delivered a compelling mixture of sustainability and excitement and added: ‘‘It’s about performance and physicality but it’s really interesting when you look behind the scenes and see the processes involved and the skillsets of the individual drivers.
‘‘The way they manage and control their energy usage is amazing.’’
Nissan recently announced the acquisition of the e.dams race team – a move Humberstone says underlines Nissan’s passion for top-level electrified motorsport.
He added: ‘‘We have a legacy in the electric vehicle market stretching back 11 years in the UK with LEAF, so it’s logical that we should have a significant footprint in Formula E and it’s a great space for us to be in.
‘‘It’s natural to bring this into our customers’ lives and share the experience and the fun of it. It might still be fairly early days for Formula E but I’m sure it will continue to expand and draw a wider and wider audience.
Positive feedback
‘‘More and more people are becoming knowledgeable about automotive electrification so it follows that they’ll be attracted to it in all its forms.’’
The Formula E race weekend in London came just a couple of days after the first customer handovers of Nissan’s all new electric crossover, ARIYA, took place.
Humberstone said: ‘‘To see the first orders being fulfilled was fantastic. ARIYA is such an amazing product – we’re really proud of it. We’ve had hugely positive feedback from the media and customers alike – and we have a significant order bank already. We’re really excited about the future of ARIYA.’’
As part of its goal to achieve carbon neutrality across its operations and the lifecycle of its products by 2050, Nissan intends to electrify every all-new vehicle offering by the early 2030s in key markets.
And in the north-east of England, Nissan is busy creating EV36Zero, a £1 billion flagship electric vehicle hub that will create a world-first EV manufacturing ecosystem.