“The reason why we began and returned to the sport in 2016 was due to the fact that we were ready to debut the Jaguar I-Pace, which was the first electric car produced by the firm. According to Barclay, “it was the right moment to come back and show to the world that we have amazing capabilities to produce electric cars.” “The reason we began and returned to the sport in 2016 was due to the fact that we were ready to introduce the Jaguar I-Pace [the first electric car produced by the firm].”
The plan was given a big boost in February 2021 when the company announced its plans to discontinue manufacture of gasoline-powered Jaguar automobiles by the year 2025 in favor of the production of “all electric” versions of the vehicles. The strategy received a considerable boost as a result of this step. The company has made the commitment that by the year 2030, electric cars would account for sixty percent of all sales of Land Rover vehicles.
“That mindset will become even more accurate as we go forward; we have begun our’reimagine’ strategy, and that means that by the year 2025, Jaguar will be a cutting-edge, all-electric luxury automotive company. In addition, Barclay states that “we will begin exclusively producing electric autos beginning in January of 2025.”
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, was quoted as saying that “it represents a seismic change for the firm,” and that “our racing program is at the forefront of that approach.” “And because we are racing, we are developing, we are inventing, we are learning, and we are improving this fantastic technology to bring it to the future of all electric vehicles beyond 2025.” [Citation needed]
In order to provide some context for Jaguar’s plan to stop manufacturing gasoline-powered automobiles in 2025, it is important to note that the most aggressive policies for decarbonization of the Australian car fleet exist in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). In the ACT, the government will cease to register cars that are not “zero emissions vehicles” in 2035. Jaguar’s plan to stop manufacturing gasoline-powered automobiles in 2025 will be easier to understand if this fact is taken into consideration. This decision will give some context for these regulations, since Jaguar has decided to discontinue producing gasoline-powered vehicles in the year 2025.
Other Australian states have only set “targets” for the adoption of zero emissions vehicles, which is an umbrella phrase that refers to electric vehicles as well as automobiles fueled by hydrogen, and there is no strict deadline for the registration of gasoline-powered vehicles. However, the state of Victoria has set a deadline of 2025 for the transition away from gasoline-powered vehicles.
The fact that Jaguar Land Rover, which is controlled by the Indian conglomerate Tata, has been operating at a loss for some years now is an additional important piece of background information surrounding the goal to transition to an all-electric fleet by the year 2025. This goal was established in 2014.
The epidemic has had a particularly negative impact on Jaguar, and there are some stories that claim that the matter played a role in the retirement of chief executive Thierry Bollore this week. In the midst of a worldwide scarcity of semiconductors, the pandemic has dealt a severe blow to all automobile manufacturers; nevertheless, Jaguar has been hammered especially hard by the crisis.
According to data from Australia that was compiled and presented by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, a scarcity of semiconductors is acting as a barrier to the amount of sales. According to the information shown here, sales of all Jaguar models—both electric and traditional—during the first ten months of 2022 were around 42% fewer than they had been during the same period of the previous year.
This year, market share was also lost in the United Kingdom, according to numbers that were supplied by the United Kingdom Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders this year (SMMT).
The challenging environment has presented Jaguar with a number of challenges, and the choice to shift its focus to electric cars puts the firm with a substantial risk. As a direct consequence of this, the Barclay’s motorsport team now has a greater level of duty to achieve success on the racetrack and promote the Jaguar brand as the standard of excellence for innovation in electric cars.
Mitch Evans, a race car driver for Jaguar who also participated in the Formula E championship the year before, did a respectable job in this regard by winning four of the 16 races and coming in second overall in the drivers’ standings. In total, Evans finished in second place in the standings for the entire season.
The Jaguar team finished in fourth position in the competition for teams, which also featured teams from other well-known corporations like as Nissan and Porsche.
Formula E’s commercial strategy focuses a strong emphasis on the connecting of corporations to cutting-edge technology and decarbonization. This approach was developed in order to attract sponsors. In 2021, sponsorship was responsible for 57 percent of the overall money generated by the sport.
Formula One, on the other hand, only derived 16% of its revenue from sponsorship; instead, the sport generated the great bulk of its money from selling tickets and merchandise to audiences that were far bigger.
All of the teams will bring their brand-new “generation 3” cars to the first race of the 2017 Formula E season, which will take place in Mexico on January 14 and kick off in Mexico City.
Barclay claims that the new cars will be up to 50 kilometers per hour faster than the ones that were used throughout the most recent season of the tournament.
He explains, “We go from a car with a peak power output of 250 kilowatts [last year] to a car with 350 kilowatts and a weight that is now 826 kilograms down from 903 kilograms, which is roughly about 100 kilograms lighter than a Formula 1 car fully fuelled.” He adds, “We go from a car with a weight that is now 826 kilograms down from 903 kilograms.” This year, we move up to a vehicle that has a peak power output of 350 kilowatts from a car that has a peak power output of 250 kilowatts.
Fortescue Metals, a mining firm based in Australia, became the only provider of batteries for Formula E cars when it completed its acquisition of Williams Advanced Engineering earlier this year. When they are placed under braking force, the next generation of Formula E cars will have a better ability to recharge their batteries than previous generations.
Even on tracks such as Monaco, which have a large number of low-speed corners that give Formula E cars a chance to narrow the gap to those in Formula 1, the most recent generation of Formula E cars can almost match the acceleration of Formula 1 cars right off the starting line. This is due to the fact that the latest generation of Formula E cars have significantly improved their traction control systems. Despite this, they continue to be slower than most competitors around a complete lap on most courses.
The British driver Lando Norris won the Formula One race that was held in Monaco this year. Norris also set a new record for the fastest lap by running around the coastline of the principality in one minute and 14.693 seconds.
The quickest lap time was recorded during the Formula E race that was held on the same circuit; however, this time was 18 seconds slower than the time recorded during the preceding race.
One issue that adds to the impression that Formula E lacks the pace of other forms of motorsport is the fact that it puts a premium on eco-friendliness and efficiency.
The cars do not have the enormous wings that are typical of Formula One machinery; these cars are not designed to compete in that category. During high-speed turns, these wings give the Formula 1 cars with the aerodynamic downforce essential to keep a strong hold on the tarmac.
A vehicle’s speed may be reduced by a force known as drag, which also results in a loss of some of the energy that was used to propel the vehicle ahead. Drag is a force that causes a vehicle to move more slowly and is produced by the wings of Formula One cars.
Because there is less resistance between the Formula E vehicles and the track, a bigger portion of the energy that is spent is actually used to propel the cars forward. This allows for a greater number of laps to be completed in the same amount of time.
The “efficiency” with which one makes use of their available energy is accorded a great deal of value in the realm of modern motorsports.
“We do not design the car to have a lot of downforce on purpose,” said Barclay. “Rather, the automobile is supposed to be more efficient on drag.”
Another area where speed is sacrificed in order for Formula E to preserve its reputation as a sustainable racing series is the selection of tires used in the competition.
Michelin is the exclusive provider of the all-weather tyres that are required for usage on Formula E cars, and this tyre can only be found on Formula E vehicles. During the course of each race weekend, which includes both the practice and the qualifying sessions, drivers are only permitted to utilize a maximum of four tires on the back and four tires on the front of their vehicles.
Formula One, on the other hand, demands that drivers use a minimum of two different types of Pirelli tyres in each race – given that the track conditions are dry – and supplies drivers with a total of 10 sets of tyres to make use of during the duration of the race weekend.
When drivers in Formula One want to travel as fast as they possibly can, they may opt to outfit their cars with soft tires, sometimes known as “slick” tires. These tires have no tread and are meant to limit the amount of friction that the vehicle has with the road. If they believe that endurance is more essential to them than peak speed, they have the option of selecting robust tires with a deep tread from a retailer such as Goodyear.
According to Barclay, “We also don’t have the slick tyre, and the slick tyre is worth around four to five seconds a lap,” which is the reason why they don’t run as fast as they otherwise might. Because of the constraints we are working under, we are unable to [move as quickly].”
The concepts that are generated inside Barclay’s racing crew should, in Barclay’s opinion, eventually make their way into the Jaguar vehicles that average consumers drive on the road. However, the main competition is going on now, and it is taking place away from the track.
“When you are brave in this situation, you really are pushing the limitations of the technology, and you are learning at a faster speed than you otherwise would,” he says. “When you are bold in this setting, you really are pushing the limits of the technology.” When you show courage in this environment, you are really pushing the limits of what is possible with this technology.
“The Jaguar I-Pace, which you can now go and drive, has a range increase of 20 kilometers [extra], which came about as a consequence of our software learnings in Formula E. This was made possible due to the fact that you can now go and drive it.
“Since 2016, we have designed and developed a total of six brand-new power trains for our Formula E race car. As a result of this endeavor, we have made significant strides in the areas of material technology; the evolution of our packaging; the development of our light-weighting solutions; our increased efficiency; and our increased knowledge of software.
“Each and every one of these learning experiences is going to prove to be very beneficial for our subsequent production automobiles.
“The reason we race is to illustrate not only the capabilities of electric cars from a formula point of view, but also to highlight the advantages of electric vehicles with regard to sustainability, specifically the absence of pollutants,” “The reason we race is to illustrate not only the capabilities of electric cars from a formula point of view,”
The governing body of racing throughout the globe has given Formula E an exclusive license to race electric vehicles until at least the year 2038. This license will remain in effect until Formula E decides to give it up.
According to forecasts provided by industry specialists such as the London consultancy Rho Motion, battery electric cars are anticipated to account for 63 percent of the total sales of automobiles around the globe by the aforementioned period. When alternative vehicles with zero emissions, such as hybrids or automobiles fueled by hydrogen, are taken into account, it is anticipated that this market share would climb to 87 percent of total sales in the year 2038.
According to Barclay, this kind of transition on the part of consumers is what will convince the large audiences who come to Formula 1 to give Formula E a try instead.
Even when the great majority of vehicles that are now available on the market have been converted to operate on battery power, the sport will continue to grow at an accelerated rate. According to him, both the level of interest and public understanding in the event is rapidly increasing, and it is now on track to become the most significant worldwide championship.
“How much longer do you anticipate that taking? We don’t know, but I think it’s safe to say that, as time goes on, we do expect it to become the most relevant kind of racing anyplace in the world.”