BMW announce Andretti partnership

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BMW have confirmed a partnership with Andretti Formula E team as part of a long term strategy that could see them join the series as a works team in the future.

[pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“Everyone knows that BMW and motorsport are intrinsically linked.” Klaus Frohlich[/pullquote]

Speculation about the manufacturer joining the team has been fierce all summer, especially after their works driver, Antonio Felix Da Costa, joining the team. The announcement comes as no surprise to many people.

The “strategic realignment” of the manufacturer sees BMW work with Andretti for two seasons and will involve “cooperation at engineer level and mutual use of resources”. The manufacturer wants to get a look at how things work in the series before deciding whether they should enter a works team in season five.

“The strategic realignment of the motorsport activities is a strong commitment to motorsport on the part of our company,” said Klaus Frohlich, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG Development. “It will remain a cornerstone within the BMW group in the future.”

Of course, one of the main focuses for BMW will be how Formula E can help their road products. The manufacturer is already a front runner in an ever growing market place, but with the likes of Jaguar now looking to get into the market of the future, the development that comes with Formula E could be vital.

“The commitments allow us to demonstrate our expertise in the areas of technology and integration on international platforms,” Frohlich said. “Electric mobility will continue to grow in importance. In the last ten years, we have established a leading position in the automobile industry in this field with the BMW i. Through our partnership with Andretti Formula E in the FIA Formula E Championship, we will now additionally see a close interaction between motor racing and production development in our company, from which both departments will benefit.”

The manufacturer will continue to supply the safety and medical car, and rescue vehicles to Formula E, and remains the Official Vehicle Partner.

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Image courtesy of Rajan Jangda

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