The all-electric championship, which hits a decade since it was founded this year, confirmed the plans prior to this weekend’s Sao Paulo E-Prix.
The new concept will take the two highest-scoring cars in every race from each manufacturer, with points awarded using the current scoring system used for both the drivers’ and teams’ championships.
Currently, six manufacturers compete in Formula E including Electric Racing Technologies, Jaguar, Mahindra Racing, Nissan, Porsche, and Stellantis.
Speaking to select media including Autosport ahead of the race in Brazil, championship co-founder Alberto Longo confirmed it was a concept which had been discussed at length in a bid to make the championship more appealing to manufacturers.
“We need to keep on attracting different manufacturers so definitely there has been discussion with the FIA that allows to have different championships within the championship,” he said.
“We decided that the best option was to have a soft launch during this season and then it will become an FIA world championship from Season 11 onwards. So basically, what we want to do is a little bit of a test from now until the end of the season.”
The Manufacturers’ Trophy will be backdated to include the opening three races of this season, which included Mexico City and a double-header in Diriyah, with Jaguar top of the standings.
Sebastien Buemi, Envision Racing, Jaguar I-TYPE 6, Pascal Wehrlein, Porsche, Porsche 99X Electric Gen3
Photo by: Dom Romney / Motorsport Images
Prizes for finishing top of the new standings includes a unique trophy which will be awarded at the end of the season at Formula E’s prize-giving ceremony. The winning manufacturer will receive a badge to be displayed on helmets, cars, and team apparel in the subsequent season.
When asked about why the concept was introduced during the season as opposed to prior to it getting under way, Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds said: “The beauty of being us is that we’re very flexible, we’re very agile and we’re effectively a gangly teenager in motorsport terms [having only reached 10 years this season].
“We could have waited until next season and done a big launch, but on the other hand we thought we’ve still got 13 races to go, why wouldn’t we just develop it even if it’s not perfect.
“We have to backdate it to the start, why would we wait? Why don’t we just create something, create a bit more excitement.”
