Formula E · China
China (1/4): Chinese teams in Formula E, then and now
Since the 2023/24 season no car manufacturer from China has raced in Formula E. Until then there was one: NIO. Chinese money is still in the field, but not from a company that builds cars.
What NIO was
The team that later became NIO took part in the first Formula E season, 2014/15, with the McLaren-built spec powertrain. From 2015/16 the powertrains carried the name NEXTEV and later Nio, up to the Gen3 powertrain «NIO 333 ER9» in 2022/23. For 2019/20 the team changed owner and has since been run by Lisheng Sports and Gusto Engineering; NIO kept its manufacturer status because the new powertrain was homologated. Before 2023/24 it was announced that the team would be renamed ERT Formula E Team and that the Nio name would leave.
According to The Race (8 July 2026) there was no overt technical connection left that season. In October 2024 the US investment firm Forest Road bought all of the team; it has since been called Kiro Race Co and races with Porsche technology.
Who else was Chinese
Techeetah, in the series from 2016/17 to 2021/22, belonged to SECA and China Media Capital. It won the teams’ championship in 2018/19 and 2019/20, with powertrains from Renault and later DS. The title therefore went to a team in Chinese ownership with a French powertrain. It was missing in 2022/23; according to Wikipedia the DS partnership had ended and SECA had not delivered the expected investment or a sale.
Envision Racing has been majority-owned by Envision Energy, a wind turbine maker from Shanghai, since 2022. The team is based in Silverstone and raced with Jaguar powertrains from 2022/23 to 2024/25; Jaguar remains its supplier in the Gen4 era (Formula E announcement of 1 July 2026).
What the series says
Series chief executive Jeff Dodds told e-formula.news (4 January 2026) that he expects a Chinese manufacturer in the world championship, but not at the beginning of the Gen4 era, and that Chinese manufacturers are very focused on their home market. Geely, which according to a press report is examining an entry, is the subject of part 2.
What this means for a purchase
- No Chinese car brand supplies a team or a powertrain. Anyone buying a BYD, Zeekr or Lotus in Switzerland is not buying a car with a Formula E link. Zeekr and Lotus belong to Geely, which according to a press report is examining an entry (part 2).
- NIO does not appear in our registration statistics. At the time of writing the brand is not listed in the auto-schweiz plug-in statistics that we analyse.
- Techeetah’s titles say nothing about Chinese technology. They were won with Renault and DS powertrains.
What we do not know
- Whether NIO technology from the race car reached a production car. We found no statement from NIO on this.
- Whether suppliers from China are involved in Gen4. In the sources we read, no Chinese cell, motor or inverter supplier is named; the Gen4 battery comes from Podium (Italy), and its cell manufacturer is not named.
- Whether and when a manufacturer joins. Part 2 covers the rumour.
Sources: Wikipedia (English), Kiro Race Co, Techeetah, Envision Racing; Formula E, «Forest Road purchases Formula E team» (15.10.2024); The Race, «Lotus Formula E team: latest manufacturer interest explained» (08.07.2026); e-formula.news, «Dodds on Formula E expansion in China» (04.01.2026); Formula E, «Envision Racing and Jaguar extend customer relationship into Gen4 era» (01.07.2026). Registrations: auto-schweiz, plug-in statistics.
Transparency: Statements by Jeff Dodds are reproduced in substance, not verbatim. Powertrain names and ownership of NIO, Techeetah and Envision come from Wikipedia, a secondary source; we have not checked them against a primary source of the series.
