Mahindra is facing a crucial period over the shape of its Formula E future ahead of an extended mid-January deadline over committing to the next Gen4 rules set which gets underway at the end of 2026.
Along with Stellantis - which has two brands in the series in the shape of DS and Maserati - Mahindra has not yet signed up to the Gen4 period, unlike fellow current FE manufacturers Porsche, Nissan , Jaguar and Lola.
Mahindra team principal Frederic Bertrand recently said the Indian manufacturer is “still in the game” for joining the above quartet but that a final decision will not now come until the January extension.
“The FIA agreed with a late entry process, which for us is the deadline we need to match now,” Bertrand told The Race.
“We are still in the game and what is good is that if we compare where we were, now the team is ready.
“At the moment we would press the button, the team is ready to push out and to deliver because we have the people in place, we have the agreements in place, we have everything ready to be actioned.”
The sticking point for Mahindra is known to be commercial with the financial package not yet completely defined to go for a fourth term in Formula E.
A combination of Mahindra’s poor last three seasons and the additional costs of the Gen4 regulations are believed to be the main factors in the initial indecision.
The cancellation of Formula E’s Indian round - the Hyderabad E-Prix - was a bitter disappointment for Mahindra but it is not thought to have been a primary factor in this uncertainty.
“The only thing we need is to make sure that we have the right package behind us in terms of how to make sure that everybody in the company is aligned and is able to understand the way to finance all this,” added Bertrand.
“It's more expensive than it has been. We want to make sure that we do it in a proper way.
“So that's where we are right now. We are in the same state of mind, trying to make it happen. That's still the goal.”
Mahindra says it has Gen4 technical plans ready to go and be activated despite several of its technical design staff having moved on recently, including former chief designer Lewis Butler, who joined Williams earlier this year.
As first reported by The Race, Mahindra had been working with the Mercedes High Performance Powertrains operation, although it is believed that this relationship has ceased until the Gen4 questions are answered.
It has also worked closely with the MTS Systems and Rockfort Engineering organisations on its present Gen3Evo package which showed strongly in recent testing at Jarama and Mallorca in the hands of Edoardo Mortara, Nyck de Vries and test driver Jordan King.
COULD IT BECOME A CUSTOMER TEAM?
One option that Mahindra is known to have already explored is a ‘Plan B’ strategy of pivoting to become a customer team in 2026.
That possibility, from a legislation point of view, is simple to achieve. But how it would be structured and look would be more complex.
The only other team that made such a switch was Venturi when it metamorphosed from its manufacturer status and supplying the Mercedes-affiliated HWA Racelab team to the reverse of that deal as a customer to the full Mercedes works programme for 2019-20.
It then transitioned into Maserati MSG in 2023, as Maserati got special dispensation to become a registered manufacturer despite it using Stellantis sister brand DS’s hardware.
The Techeetah and Penske/Dragon entities flitted between privateer and manufacturer status with DS Automobiles in Gen2 and Gen3 with a unique model of operating too.
But Mahindra becoming a customer team would have some curious elements because the Indian manufacturer has already invested a great deal of money in formula E, owns the licence for the team and would gain little from just being what would effectively be a sponsor if it no longer produced its own powertrains.
“That option, we have more time to structure it properly,” said Bertrand of any potential customer move.
“We would need to do it in case we don't succeed. But I think for the moment, if we take priorities one by one, because that's really how we work, priority one is getting ready for Sao Paulo [the 2024-25 season-opener next week].
“It would be a big help if we can already show that the step one we wanted to deliver is coming into place and the car is better.
“Testing has been good, but that's not enough and we need to make sure that we are showing a bit more.
“The second part of the process is using that period to still finalise what can be done on securing Gen4 participation as a manufacturer. That's really the goal of the coming weeks.
“If not, then we have a bit of time to react in early 2025 to finalise the way to participate in another way in the championship as a customer team.
“But for the moment, we prefer to focus on what is important in the short term: Sao Paulo and the first race of the season.”
Bertrand denied that the opening 2024-25 rounds in Brazil and Mexico were crucial to try to persuade the Mahindra board to back the Gen4 plans further.
“I would say it's not linked and there is no one telling me, ‘if you perform, you get it, If you don't perform, you don't get it. That's not at all,” he insisted.
