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German automaker BMW, one of Formula E’s founding sponsors, recently announced that it will add another layer of sponsorship to their already profound support of the all-electric racing category. In addition to being the series’ official vehicle partner, BMW will become the race title partner at its upcoming home race in Berlin.
The Formula E circus will return to Germany’s capital city on May 17, and when it does so, it will be welcomed by the overwhelming support of young racing fans and BMW’s own employees who work and live in Berlin. The Tempelhof Airport where the E-Prix will be contested will be adorned by BMW i banners and other BMW-related sponsorship collateral.
“The title partnership for the German round of the FIA Formula E Championship in Berlin is a key component of our extensive commitment to this series,” said Jörg Reimann, Vice President BMW Brand Experience. “For BMW, the opportunity to actively shape the event and offer visitors a unique BMW brand experience is always at the heart of this kind of co-operation. That is precisely what we will be doing at the BMW i Berlin E-Prix alongside Formula E.”
BMW jumped on the electric wagon early on when the FIA’s new racing series posed itself as a good platform to promote its i brand of hybrid and electric vehicles. From that moment on, Formula E has utilized the high-performance BMW i8 and i3 as the series’ official pace car and auxiliary vehicles.
Mercedes-Benz recently enrolled its EQ brand as a major sponsor Formula E’s European leg, which includes races in Rome, Paris, Berlin, and Zurich. Not knowing how Mercedes’ involvement as an official sponsor of the series conflicts with BMW’s partnership, The Drive reached out to Formula E for clarification.
Some races (Mercedes EQ is) a presenting partner like in Rome, and others as an official partner, like in Zurich,” said a Formula E spokesperson. “The rest (will be) with trackside branding or additional activations on site like in the Allianz E-Village fan zone. The collaboration with BMW i entails the race title partnership, therefore securing the naming rights for that particular event: The BMW i Berlin E-Prix.”
