Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra is teaming up with Renesas Electronics to use the know-how they gain from racing Formula E electric race cars* to improve the next generation of consumer electric vehicles. The Indian automaker, a pioneer in the development and manufacture of electric vehicles, announced that the strategic partnership with Renesas would involve collaboration on a number of programs including “proof of concept” systems that apply to both EV racing cars and road cars.
The partnership is part of Mahindra’s ‘race to road’ strategy for electric vehicle development using the Formula E platform. Manidra Racing is one of ten founding teams of the FIA Formula E Championship, the world’s first all-electric racing series. Their M3Electro race car, launched for season 3 which concluded in July 2017, proved to be a competitive package getting the team’s first race win, a total of ten podiums, three pole positions and two fastest lap awards. The 2018 racing season will give the Mahindra and Renesas the opportunity to work together on a number of programs, including ‘proof-of-concept’ systems that can be used in both racing and road cars. The two groups expect to leverage their individual strengths to expand the development and manufacturing of EVs, powertrain, ADAS, and other systems in India and other emerging markets, and to accelerate the development of self-driving electric and connected vehicles for consumer adoption.
It is expected that the collaboration will use Renesas’ Autonomy Platform as the basis for many of its developments. Their Autonomy platform is an open system that includes core technologies that are essential in the development of EVs, including motor and inverter control systems and battery management.
“India is one of our focus markets and is expected to bring about significant business growth for Renesas, particularly for the EV segment,” said Ryuji Omura, Executive Vice President of Renesas Electronics Corporation. “The India government is working on a scheme to limit the cars sold in India to only electric vehicles by 2030, opening tremendous opportunities for the EV market. Through our new partnership with Mahindra, we look forward to bringing our design expertise based on our open and comprehensive Renesas autonomy™ Platform, to the Indian market. We are honored to sponsor the Mahindra Racing Formula E Team and look forward to enhancing the performance of Mahindra EVs and the company’s racing team with our advanced semiconductor technologies.”
* For those not familiar with the Formula E racing championship, it is an electric street racing series and the world’s first fully-electric international single-seater category in motorsport. Formula E brings electrifying wheel-to-wheel action to some of the world’s leading cities, racing against the backdrop of iconic skylines such as New York, Hong Kong, Paris and Rome. Follow Formula E racing at www.fiaformulae.com.
Also, see the video “Formula E for Beginners” presented below. In this excellent educational video, Julius Baer explains to Formula E newbies what they always wanted to know about this sport – and never dared to ask.