Breaking News: DS Automobiles Leaving Formula E After Season 12
- therookiereporters
- 8 hours ago
- 2 min read
After four world titles and years of success, the DS Automobiles name is leaving Formula E rather than entering the Gen4 era, exploring new challenges outside of motorsport.
On the 19th March, it was announced that the DS Automobiles brand will leave Formula E at the end of the year. With a new set of regulations, as the series enters its Gen4 era, the group has decided to end its time in the sport.
In a statement, DS Automobiles (part of the Stellantis group) announced that, after 11 years in Formula E, winning four championship titles, 18 victories, 55 podiums, and 26 pole positions, the brand is evolving. Instead of continuing its support in the Formula E championship, the French brand is evolving its sporting and technological strategy, switching to golf and SailGP to be closer to its customers. As part of a long-term partnership with SailGP, the brand intends to start a “new chapter where emotion combines with innovation, to explore new development avenues for the brand’s future generations of cars.”
Xavier Peugeot, DS Automobiles, had this to say:
“After 11 years of pioneering commitment to Formula E, 18 victories, two drivers’ and
two manufacturers’ titles, DS Automobiles has demonstrated its ability to transform competition into a high-tech reality, illustrated by our latest DS N°4, DS N°7 and DS N°8 models. To take French excellence even further, we are now taking a new step by orienting our partnership strategy towards SailGP, a unique laboratory of innovation where technological performance and emotion meet.”
To Formula E fans, this news from Stellantis is not overly shocking, as reports that Opel would be the second Stellantis brand have been circulating since the withdrawal of the Neom McLaren Formula E team and Maserati MSG Racing last year. Masterati were replaced with Citroën Racing, with Stellantis mainstay, Jean-Éric Vergne and newcomer Nick Cassidy joining the team, who have had a successful start to the season. Formula E have also announced that there will be an exciting championship announcement coming in the next couple of days, with rumours circling that the grid may be up to capacity at the start of the Gen4 Era.
DS Penske have not been performing as they did in their winning ways this season, with recruit Taylor Barnard and FE veteran Maximilian Günther yet to achieve a podium this year. At the end of the statement, DS Automobiles confirmed that they remain committed to the sport until the end of the year and would like to see the team return to the podium this weekend.
So, can the DS Penske team finish on a high this year, and will we see the Penske name continue in the world of Formula E? I’m sure that fans will find out more when the grid hits the Madrid E-Prix this weekend.
Article written by Amy Powis
