Mahindra starts Formula E tests with the Gen4 in May: "Now definitely we are at full throttle!"

The Formula E World Championship is about to undergo a major overhaul: with the Gen4 era, which will begin in season 13, the racing series will bring new cars and a new technical concept to the track. The new generation of cars will be more powerful than the current Gen3 Evo cars and will feature permanent all-wheel drive, among other things.

The first tests of the new cars took place in November 2025 at the Circuito Monteblanco and in January 2026 at the Circuito de Almeria. However, one of the manufacturers was still conspicuous by its absence during these first test drives: Indian constructor Mahindra Racing has not yet finalised a Gen4 drive and has therefore not taken part in any of the test days to date.

According to its own statements, Mahindra is only planning to complete the first tests with the new car in a few months' time. "We are targeting May right now," confirmed Team Principal Frederic Bertrand in an interview with Motorsport.com. "We could have done it in April, but we prefer to keep on evaluating a few options before."

Bertrand: "We pressed the button a bit late"

According to Bertrand, the car will first be tested on the test bench before the complete car goes out on the track for the first time. "We officially pressed the button a bit late, but we were still working on this project at the back. Now definitely we are at full throttle. The challenge is definitely timing because the others have started a bit earlier than us and have a bit more data than us. But I think we have recovered on that side."

Bertrand also adds that the team has taken a different approach to optimising costs: "We prefer to run a more conceptual phase right now before going into production of parts, so that we can properly evaluate different concepts. When those concepts are really properly evaluated we choose one and that one has to be the right one."

With this approach, the team wants to ensure that the development work is as efficient as possible. Bertrand is convinced that the vehicle will be competitive, similar to the Gen3 Evo car from Mahindra. The development approach that the team has already pursued in seasons 11 and 12 should also lead to success in the Gen4 era.

The results so far have made the team optimistic: after the fifth round of the season, Mahindra is in third place in the team standings. However, whether this approach will also pay off in the new generation of vehicles will only become clear at the earliest during the planned tests in May.