Home / Business & Startups / Formula E’s GEN4 Era Brings Faster Cars; TCS Expands AI Role With Jaguar Racing 

Formula E’s GEN4 Era Brings Faster Cars; TCS Expands AI Role With Jaguar Racing 

Formula E is set to enter its GEN4 era with faster and more powerful electric race cars, along with a new race format. The new cars will make their competitive debut at the Jeddah E-Prix in Saudi Arabia on December 18 and 19, 2026, with the GEN4 machines capable of producing up to 600 kW of power and reaching speeds of more than 335 kmph.

The new generation will also change the way Formula E races are run. The Jeddah double-header will introduce E-PrixUnleashed, a shorter, performance-focused format, alongside the regular E-Prix. GEN4 will also bring permanent all-wheel drive, while the cars will use enhanced regenerative braking to recover energy during races.

Major automotive names including Jaguar, Porsche, Nissan, Citroën, Mahindra, Lola Cars and Opel will feature on the GEN4 grid. Opel will join the championship as the new manufacturer for the 2026/27 season. The manufacturers will use the championship to develop and test electric powertrain and energy-management technologies under racing conditions. 

Jaguar TCS Racing will enter the new era as the reigning Formula E Teams’ World Champion. The team won the 2025/26 Teams’ title after recording four victories and 10 podium finishes during the season. Jaguar has also committed to GEN4 and will continue developing its own powertrain, while supplying its powertrain to customer teams in the new era.

For Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the move to GEN4 comes with an expanded role in Jaguar’s Formula E programme. TCS has renewed its multi-year title partnership with Jaguar TCS Racing and will become the team’s Official AI Partner. The companies will work on using artificial intelligence across racing operations and engineering, with the aim of generating insights that can support the development of future Jaguar electric vehicles.

The partnership has already involved cloud computing and digital twin technology. TCS’s Virtual Vehicle Validation Model, or V3M, allows Jaguar TCS Racing engineers to test software changes and run simulations before making changes to the actual race car. This can help engineers assess different scenarios when there is limited time between races and sessions.

With AI now being added to the partnership, TCS and Jaguar TCS Racing will focus on analysing racing data and supporting engineering decisions. The work will cover areas such as vehicle performance, energy use, software and driver data, with the findings also expected to support the development of future Jaguar electric vehicles. 

The work also extends to students and technology education. Through TCS’ Ignite My Future initiative, nearly 30,000 students across 16 countries have explored racing data, design and strategy since 2023 through lesson plans and content developed around the Jaguar TCS Racing partnership.

The renewed agreement also continues a relationship that has run for five years. During that period, Jaguar TCS Racing won the Formula E Teams’ World Championship in 2024 and 2026, while TCS has worked with the team on digital technologies used in racing.

Abhinav Kumar, Global Chief Marketing Officer, TCS, said: “This partnership demonstrates what is possible when world-class teams come together with a shared ambition to innovate. With this renewal, we will further harness AI and advanced technologies to unlock new performance opportunities and help Jaguar TCS Racing compete for more podiums and championship wins as Formula E enters the GEN4 era.”

Chris Thorp, Chairman of JLR Motorsport, which operates Jaguar TCS Racing, said: “Our partnership with TCS has been instrumental in helping Jaguar TCS Racing push the boundaries of performance, efficiency, and innovation. As the Championship enters the GEN4 era, this collaboration helps us drive the future of all-electric motorsport while informing the next generation of Jaguar cars through data and AI.”

The GEN4 season will run across 21 races at 13 events, with new venues including the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Brands Hatch in the UK and Zandvoort in the Netherlands. For manufacturers and technology companies involved in the championship, the new season will bring another round of work on electric power, software, energy recovery and data-driven vehicle development.

Got questions or experiences to share? Comment below or connect with me on Instagram@samuelmjosh and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuel-joshua-maddela-ab210b1b9

Tagged:

Leave a Reply