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Audi Becomes Involved In Formula E, Will Run Factory-Backed Team Starting 2017

Audi has announced an extension of its partnership with Team ABT Schaeffler, a competitor in Formula E.
Audi Sport ABT Formula E Team - Car livery 4 photos
Photo: Audi
Audi Sport ABT Formula E Team' CarAudi Sport ABT Formula E Team' CarAudi Sport ABT Formula E Team' Car
The German automaker will extend its involvement in the Formula E team called ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport starting with the 2016/2017 season, which will open in Hong Kong on October 9, 2016. After an entire season, the brand from Ingolstadt will turn its involvement into a factory-backed motorsport program.

Audi has made the reasons for its participation in this branch of motorsport very clear. The automaker wants to focus on electric mobility, and competition has always been an environment that has brought advancements that were integrated into production cars.

Almost every element of a vehicle, from injection systems to tires, has been developed for racing and eventually landed in production cars.

Audi wants to launch an electric car on the market in 2018, and the brand plans to enhance its involvement in the world of electric vehicles. According to Dr. Stefan Knirsch, Member of the Board of Management, and Technical Development at Audi, the four-ringed brand wants every fourth Audi made in 2025 to be an electric vehicle.

Audi has had its name on a car in the Formula E Championship even since the inaugural race. The Ingolstadt automaker does not want to lose momentum on this, and has decided to intensify the partnership with Team ABT Schaeffler through financial and technical support starting the 2016/2017 season.

The season after that will include a fully-fledged factory commitment, which will be significantly more than the ability to use Audi Sport’s infrastructure in Neuburg, as the ABT Schaeffler team is allowed today.

Audi’s involvement in the top branch of electric motorsport, which also happens to be the only notable competition of its kind, has the potential of sparking new sponsorship deals from other automakers.

BMW and Mercedes-Benz might follow the same route in the future, as both brands are interested in promoting their electric vehicles. Currently, Team ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport has Daniel Abt and Lucas di Grassi as their drivers.

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About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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