With less than a month to go until the ABB FIA Formula E Championship starts its European campaign, Mercedes EQ - the product and technology brand for electric mobility of Mercedes-Benz - joins forces with the championship as a sponsor for all four European races, starting as presenting partner for the Rome race on April 14.
After announcing the marque will be joining the championship in season six, the brand will sponsor the Rome, Paris, Berlin and Zurich races, as well as putting its EQ name to the first-ever race on the streets of Italy's capital on April 14. "The revolution of electric mobility starts in cities like Rome, where today a tradition of a centuries-long history meets the mobility innovation of the future," says Marcel Guerry, Head of Mercedes-Benz Italia S.p.A. "On the same roads where chariots raced in ancient Rome, soon a new generation of 100 per cent electric cars under the EQ brand will be driven."
After the South American leg of the championship churned up the standings, with Techeetah's Jean-Eric Vergne coming out on top, Rome will be the seventh race in the season four calendar. "It's great news to see a name like Mercedes-Benz increase its ties with the series to showcase their new EQ brand ahead of entering Formula E as a competitor in season six," said Formula E Founder and CEO Alejandro Agag. "The direction and mind-set of road car manufacturers is switching to electric and Formula E is the most relevant platform to develop and promote this change. Companies like Mercedes-Benz pushing for e-mobility again shows the unstoppable nature of the revolution currently taking place in the motor industry."
After Rome, the series moves to Paris and Berlin before stopping off in Zurich, where the German marque will feature as an official partner for the Julius Baer Zurich E-Prix on June 10. With Formula E bringing circuit racing back to Switzerland for the first time in over six decades, the Zurich E-Prix will be another historic occasion for the world's first fully-electric single-seater championship. "Formula E is an agile and inspiring platform for us to present our new EQ brand to a young and technically affine audience," says Dr. Jens Thiemer, Vice President Marketing Mercedes-Benz Cars.