Formula E code already in Nissan Leaf: What Gen4 could bring to future Nissan EVs

When Nissan entered Formula E in 2018, the manufacturer brought software and development expertise from the Leaf to the racetrack. Eight years later, Nissan says the technology transfer is also working in the opposite direction: code developed further in Formula E has already made its way back into the Leaf. With Gen4, further areas of crossover are expected to emerge, particularly in software, all-wheel-drive control and energy regeneration.

Technology transfer from the racetrack to the road has been one of the key arguments for manufacturers taking part in motorsport for decades. At Nissan, however, the process initially worked in the opposite direction in Formula E. When the Japanese manufacturer joined the electric World Championship for the 2018/19 season, it already had years of experience with electric road cars thanks to the Leaf, which was launched in 2010. According to Nissan, even the software of its first Formula E car was based on that used in the Leaf.

The exchange is now expected to work in both directions. Nissan told Forbes that knowledge gained in Formula E is increasingly finding its way back into road-car development.

Nissan chief engineer Tadashi Nishikawa had already described this approach in 2024. Motorsport, he explained, shows what is technically possible when efficiency and power density are the priority, while factors such as cost, comfort or noise initially play a less significant role.

Formula E software has already made its way back into the Nissan Leaf

Software development cycles are particularly short. According to Nissan, a new software version could theoretically be used at every Formula E race weekend, resulting in hundreds of different software iterations being developed over the course of a season. Nissan now points to one concrete example of that work transferring back to a road car. "A line of code updated in Formula E has already gone back into the Nissan Leaf," the manufacturer says.

How much of an impact that particular change has on the production car is not clear from the statement. But according to Nissan, the exchange is already working in both directions at least at software level.

Complete racing systems cannot simply be transferred to production cars. Road vehicles have different requirements in terms of cost, durability, comfort and manufacturing. More relevant are individual lessons from control systems, calibration and the interaction between electrical systems under high loads.

The scale of software development in modern Formula E cars was also illustrated recently by Porsche with its new 975 RSE. According to the manufacturer, more than 1.5 million lines of code are contained in the control units of its Gen4 car alone.

Gen4 expands manufacturers' software freedom

With Gen4, manufacturers gain additional freedom in electronic control systems. This includes areas such as torque distribution between the front and rear axles, traction control and how the two motors work together during energy regeneration.

For Nissan, there are parallels with its road-car development. With e-4ORCE, the manufacturer already uses a system in models such as the Ariya that coordinates drive torque and braking forces across the front and rear axles. Similar control questions arise with the permanently all-wheel-drive Gen4 car, albeit under the very different demands of a racing car.

Chief engineer Takuro Iwase therefore sees the common ground less in identical components than in the underlying principles. "The materials are different, but the electrical equations are the same."

How much Formula E know-how will reach future road cars?

The line of code that has already made its way back into the Leaf remains just one specific example. Gen4, however, increases the technical overlap between racing and road-car development.

Whether that will lead to further Formula E-derived solutions making their way into future Nissan EVs beyond individual software developments will only become clear over the coming years.