Motorsport's governing body, the FIA, has formally confirmed that Mercedes and Porsche will join the Formula E grid at the start of season six, which is set to commence in December 2019.
As the automotive industry takes larger and larger strides in the electric vehicle market, it was announced last year that both Mercedes and Porsche would join the grid of the all-electric single seater series, with Porsche scrapping its championship-winning FIA World Endurance Championship team to focus on Formula E.
Alongside Mercedes and Porsche, nine other manufacturers will power teams in the 2019/20 season, with Techeetah being the only team not to be a manufacturer once again while Nissan replaces Renault on the grid – something that is set to take place for season five.
The addition of two new manufacturers for season six will see the grid expand from ten teams to 12, marking Formula E's largest lineup to date.
“The future landscape of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship is growing more and more, and today as we confirm two additional manufacturers for the sixth season we have more evidence of the success of this concept," said Jean Todt, President of the FIA.
"Mercedes-Benz and Porsche are both brands with long and decorated histories in motorsport, and the level of all of the 11 manufacturers that will take to the track from 2019/20 is very high.
"Formula E is going from strength to strength, and the commitment of manufacturers to sustainable racing technology is very encouraging.”
Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag added: “I’m delighted to see both Mercedes-Benz and Porsche alongside some of the existing names on the official list of homologated manufacturers for season six.
"We continue to exceed all of the initial expectations set out when we started this journey just four years ago.
"If you had said to me then that we would be in double figures in terms of recognisable names in the world of motorsport, biggest road car manufacturers and automotive brands – I would have said you were crazy. But this is the reality now.
"Combine this with the ever-growing list of partners joining the electric racing revolution and it’s clear that the ABB FIA Formula E Championship is a very exciting place to be in motorsport.”
The manufacturers that have been confirmed for entry to Formula E for season six are:
– Audi Sport
– BMW AG
– DS Automobiles
– Jaguar Land Rover
– Mahindra Racing
– Mercedes-Benz
– NextEV NIO
– Nissan
– Penske Autosport
– Porsche AG
– Venturi Automobiles
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