TCS announced as partner of Jaguar's Formula E Racing team
Tata Consultancy Services has been announced as the title sponsor of the Jaguar Formula E racing team. The multi-year deal will see the consultancy provide technology and data services, as well as appearing on the side of the team’s car.
Jaguar Land Rover and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) are longstanding partners, having collaborated on various fronts since 2012. The partnership has strengthened with joint initiatives and efforts made in areas such as connected product engineering and digital transformation. As part of their journey to reimagine automotive excellence on the cornerstone of sustainability and unique customer experience, the firms have announced a new deal regarding Jaguar’s Forumla E team.
Conceived of in 2011 by FIA president Jean Todt and Spanish businessman Alejandro Agag, Formula E is a single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. Since 2020, the series has FIA world championship status. Ahead of the new season of racing, IT services, consulting, and business solutions organisation TCS has joined Jaguar Racing as title partner.
The British motorsport team will now be known as Jaguar TCS Racing. According to Thierry Bolloré, CEO Jaguar Land Rover, Chairman JLR Motorsport, the partnership will go beyond simple branding, however. He also noted that there would be significant technical benefits to the team, as it seeks to build on its most successful season ever – finishing second in the team championship last campaign – and compete for a first championship title this time out.
“Motorsport is the ultimate challenge and to succeed in this highly competitive arena you must excel in all areas,” Bolloré went on. “Technology, innovation, agility, unity, and teamwork are all important learnings which we can implement across the company and wider group. I recognise these benefits and want to make sure that our future motorsport activity structure is set-up for maximum success.”
The multi-year partnership will see TCS and Jaguar drive research and innovation for advanced concepts and electric vehicle (EV) technologies. TCS will leverage its leadership in technology transformation and experience working with premier players in the EV value chain, to help Jaguar TCS Racing become a flagbearer for low-carbon emissions and sustainable mobility. The partnership will also see the creative use of data and insights from the racetrack to shape the wider growth, development, and transformation of the entire electric vehicle ecosystem.
TCS CEO Rajesh Gopinathan said, “We are delighted to expand our partnership with Jaguar Land Rover and join forces as Jaguar TCS Racing to harness collective knowledge and to innovate for a sustainable future for all. As the world races towards electrification, this collaboration will pave the way for the adoption of advanced technologies, utilization of cleaner energy, and the evolution of novel business models. Our efforts will go beyond business to make a lasting impact on people, communities, and the planet.”
With fewer than 80 days until the start of the new season, the partnership is already being put to work. Jaguar TCS Racing is focussed on refining the most successful race car in the team’s Formula E history including revisions in several software areas to improve energy management, making the race car faster, and more efficient. The team has also invested time in understanding and simulating the new qualifying system and practicing in-garage pitstops, which will become a significant feature of the first 10 minutes of the new format.
The partnership between Jaguar Land Rover and TCS not the first foray of IT consulting providers into motorsport. Earlier in 2021, for instance, Cognizant entered into a multi-year partnership with Aston Martin’s new Formula One team. The news came as the historical British automotive brand announced a surprise return to the Grand Prix starting grid, following six decades away from the sport.
