R Velusamy – Senior Vice President and head of Automotive Product Development at Mahindra & Mahindra – is taking on an additional role within the Mahindra family. Alongside his current role, he’s also been appointed Chairman of Mahindra Racing in a move that will further bridge Mahindra’s passenger vehicle and racing operations.
Velusamy has been credited as the brain behind Mahindra’s mHawk engines. After holding various senior-level positions at Mahindra’s powertrain division, he was made the Head of Automotive Product Development in 2018.
The introduction of the new Gen3 cars essentially hit the reset button in Formula E this year and to prepare for this, Mahindra Racing made some crucial changes within the team. Frederic Bertrand, who previously served as the FIA’s director of Formula E and Innovative Sport Projects, was brought on board as the CEO, replacing Dilbagh Gill.
They’re currently seventh in the championship, but there are still 10 more rounds to go. As the team strives to return to the top ranks of Formula E, it will be looking to tap into Velusamy’s decades of experience in vehicle and powertrain development.
Velusamy's appointment bolsters Mahindra’s race to road strategy, as the company has always maintained that it is using Formula E as a test bed for its passenger vehicles. Visual cues to this synergy have only been strengthened in the last few years, with the Formula E car carrying Mahindra’s new Born EV logo. This year’s M9Electro even sports a new red and copper livery that is said to take inspiration from Mahindra’s Born Electric platform design language.
There’s a wealth of information that the team can take from its Formula E operations and apply to its road-going EVs. The new Gen3 battery, for example, is far smaller and lighter than any road-going equivalent. R Velusamy coming onboard will further boost this technology transfer from race to road.