Will Hyundai follow up its recent sportscar expansion with a move to Formula E?
The manufacturer has talked at length recently with several existing Formula E teams about a potential partnership should it enter as a manufacturer in the near future.
And while The Race can reveal that those discussions, which are ongoing, are unlikely to result in a manufacturer entry for the start of the Gen4 era in 2026, the halfway point of the next rules cycle in 2028 could be a realistic entry point.
One of the teams that Hyundai is known to have spoken to at length is McLaren, with the recent discussions between them said to have been more extensive than Hyundai's talks with anyone else in FE.
Hyundai's motorsport division is expanding into sportscar racing for 2026, with a project bearing the name of the Hyundai Motor Group's premium brand Genesis that includes a technical partnership with ORECA and an operational agreement with the IDEC Sport company (as well as having former DS Techeetah and Porsche Formula E driver Andre Lotterer among its initial confirmed driver line-up).
The Race understands that Hyundai Motorsport, which is headed up by former Caterham and Renault Formula 1 boss Cyril Abiteboul, will concentrate on building and running the Genesis endurance programme in 2025 before it commits to another project.
There's also the lingering question of Hyundai's ongoing participation in the World Rally Championship - Hyundai clinched its first WRC drivers' title last month via Thierry Neuville - with its future beyond 2025 unclear.
Hyundai is also active in the TCR World Tour, where the BRC team supported by Hyundai Motorsport's customer racing division ran Norbert Michelisz to a second-successive drivers' title this year.
Despite its other commitments, racing in Formula E is of serious interest to Hyundai, which is believed to want a multi-faceted global motorsport framework heading into the next decade in order to help market its automotive products, many of which will be all-electric.
McLaren currently has a deal with Nissan to run its powertrains until the end of next season, the 2025-26 campaign, but has already entered into initial discussions with both Nissan and other registered manufacturers about the first homologation cycle of the Gen4 era, which begins in 2026-27.
In addition to those discussions, talks with Hyundai have kicked on recently and McLaren is believed to be an early favourite for a potential alliance for the second Gen4 homologation cycle, which begins in 2028-29, should Hyundai commit.
Hyundai is also known to have spoken to the Penske element of the DS Penske team. The Jay Penske-owned, licence-holding team would be forced to find an alternative manufacturer partner if DS Automobiles does not continue in Formula E for Gen4. An announcement on DS's future is expected next month.
Hyundai is expanding its all-electric ambitions after unveiling the Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) platform for its manufacturing of EV road cars in 2020.
Its motorsport division's technical chief, Francois-Xavier Demaison, is known to be an interested proponent of electric technology. He was one of the leading technical designers of the Volkswagen I.D R electric car that set several record runs on hillclimbs, including the famed Pikes Peak International Hillclimb, and racetracks.
When approached by The Race for comment on their talks, McLaren declined the invitation while Hyundai did not respond to a direct request.
A crucial commitment
Hyundai not registering for Formula E for the start of the Gen4 period will be a disappointment at high levels of the championship. But the fact Hyundai still has future interest will soften that blow a little.
Abiteboul was at the 2023 Monaco E-Prix and senior Hyundai engineers have since visited the paddock and talked with both FIA and Formula E Operations staff about a possible entry. Yet the fact that Lola and Maserati are the only manufacturers to have entered Formula E since Porsche committed in 2017 is seen as a wider-picture concern by some higher-ups.
For Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds, rationalising the complex manufacturer make-up of international motorsport generally was the first thing to recognise before analysing the landscape.
"There are four manufacturers in F1, NASCAR there are two manufacturers [there are three], IndyCar there are two manufacturers," Dodds told The Race last month.
"We've been slightly abnormal in that we've had a very high number of manufacturers and that's because I think the economic model does work better if it's a manufacturer team or works team and a customer team.
"The amount of data they get off two teams, four cars on the track, the model just works better. If you think about if we stayed at 11 teams - and obviously we have 12 available spaces, but we stayed at 11 - then the optimal number is between five and six [manufacturers].
"That's five and a half, so you're either going to have five with one supplying three teams, which is what we have now with Porsche [which has added Kiro as a customer for 2024-25], or you're going to have six with one supplying one team, which is what we kind of have now with Lola.
"I would like there to be five manufacturers, because I think then you get to the model which works economically, and it feels right for the championship. I've always said I think the optimum number is between five and six."
At present there are effectively six manufacturers in Formula E after Kiro's move to a customer model with Porsche.
Mahindra hasn't announced its Gen4 intentions yet and the Stellantis Group has only confirmed Maserati. That leaves Jaguar, Nissan, Porsche, Lola and Maserati as the five committed to Gen4 at this time.
Dodds confirmed "other manufacturers we are talking to, yes" but no other brand is believed to be close to signing up to Formula E beyond Hyundai.
And although rumours that BYD could become only the second Chinese brand to post a manufacturer entry do flare up season to season, Hyundai's interest in Formula E is seen as crucial for its Gen4 era.
A slightly delayed entry midway through Gen4 would at least be a tonic for Formula E, although there will likely be one consequence - as any Hyundai arrival mid-ruleset could force FE's existing customers and manufacturers to reconsider and realign themselves for the second homologation cycle.
