DS Automobiles was the first premium manufacturer to start its participation in Formula E in 2015, and has been supporting the development of this 100% electric discipline ever since. With the first generation of single-seaters equipped with a 200 kW motor and a 28 kWh battery, DS Automobiles claimed five wins and twice finished on the podium in the team classification.
The only manufacturer to have won every Formula E season since the championship’s inception, DS Automobiles has made its mark in all four seasons with the ‘GEN2′ car thanks to its DS TECHEETAH team. With power increased to 250 kW and a 52 kWh battery, DS TECHEETAH won two team titles and two drivers’ titles (Jean-Éric Vergne in 2019 and António Félix da Costa in 2020). During these four seasons, the Parisian region-based team has achieved a record number of wins (10), a record number of poles (14) and a record number of podium finishes (28) in 55 races, finishing each year on the podium. of the team classification.
Building on the experience gained from achieving all these records with the second generation of Formula E, DS Automobiles began designing its third generation single-seater, the most powerful and advanced of all 100% electric single-seaters. Work started this year. With power output increased to 350kW and 600kW energy recovery capacity cumulated on the front and rear axles, this new single-seater will be the fastest and most efficient ever produced .
While working on these developments, DS Automobiles continues to create close links between DS PERFORMANCE research and the future of its production models. Already unveiled in early 2022, the DS E-TENSE Performance prototype serves as a high-performance laboratory for testing and validating new technologies. Equipped with two electric motors that deliver a total power of 600 kW and a battery with innovative chemistry, it reaches 100 km/h in just 2.0 seconds. The experience gained will soon lead to the presentation of a new, more powerful and more efficient electric motor for the E-TENSE series models.
“DS Automobiles has placed electrification at the heart of its strategy since its inception in 2014. Formula E and the work of DS PERFORMANCE accelerate the development of new solutions for more sustainable mobility. Since 2019, DS Automobiles has offered a 100% electrified range and our transition is accelerating: from 2024, all new DS Automobiles creations will be exclusively 100% electric”, details Béatrice Foucher, General Manager of DS Automobiles.
Specifically, after being the first Premium manufacturer to participate in Formula E, the brand has taken advantage of its successes in the 100% electric championship to build on its research and development towards more sustainable mobility. Since 2019, DS Automobiles has had a 100% electrified range, which has allowed it to become, as of 2020, the multi-energy brand with the lowest CO2 emissions in Europe. The transition is accelerating: from 2024, all new DS Automobiles models will be exclusively 100% electric.
With the aim of maintaining leadership in the electrification market, DS Automobiles relies on the experience of DS Performance, its competition division, to fine-tune a prototype that will serve to test different innovations that will be integrated into the future creations of the brand.
“Our objective is to apply the experience gained in Formula E and the knowledge we have gained by winning our international titles in a project that is the forerunner of the high-performance electricity of tomorrow. It is a laboratory that will serve us to analyze the behavior of components and fine-tune them with a view to future industrialization. The idea is also to find solutions to lower costs and make them easier to manufacture and be able to apply them to series models. The next generations of the E-TENSE range will be will benefit from these developments,” explains Thomas Chevaucher, Director of DS Performance.
