Formula E Jeddah ePrix II
Mahindra to begin Gen4 testing in May after delayed board approval
Mahindra insists it is "not late" with Gen4 development as it confirms timing of first test
Rachit Thukral
Published: Feb 22, 2026, 3:23 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Mahindra's Gen4 Formula E car
Photo by: Mahindra Racing
Mahindra will put its Gen4 powertrain on track for the first time in May, roughly six months after rival Formula E teams began testing for the series’ next era.
The Indian manufacturer did not officially commit to the Gen4 era until November last year, well after the original registration deadline had passed.
However, behind the scenes it had already been conducting early development work, with progress accelerating once final approval was granted by the company’s board in Mumbai.
A first full-car test, featuring the complete Gen4 package rather than a mule or hybrid powertrain, is now scheduled for late spring.
“We are targeting May right now. We could have done it in April, but we prefer to keep on evaluating a few options before,” Mahindra team principal Frederic Bertrand told Motorsport.com.
“We will progressively run the car on benches part by part, and then we will run the car fully by May.”
Formula E’s other five manufacturers – Jaguar, Stellantis, Porsche, Lola-Yamaha and Nissan – have already completed two tests with their Gen4 powertrains so far. The first running took place at Monteblanco in November, with manufacturers accumulating further mileage at Almeria.
However, it’s worth pointing out that not all manufacturers had been able to test the full 2026-27 package, with many instead relying on a hybrid version of the Gen3 Evo and Gen4.
Edoardo Mortara, Mahindra Racing
Photo by: Jed Leicester / LAT Images via Getty Images
Bertrand admitted that the compressed development timeline leaves Mahindra little margin for error with its design choices.
“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.
“The big challenge now is making sure that we make the right choices. We put the money at the right place to get the maximum performance out of the budget we have. And the final one is to make sure that we deliver right at the first time. So it means that we have no real right to make a big mistake on one development or one concept.
“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.
“The challenge is to make sure that we do it right the first time. We managed it properly on Gen3.5. So we have a good level of confidence.”
Frederic Bertrand, CEO of Mahindra Racing
Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images
Mahindra had begun lining up suppliers, contractors and technical partners to ensure it could move quickly once the green light arrived.
“All those guys liked the way we approached the 3.5 [era] and they are happy with the results,” Bertrand explained. So they started to have trust in the way we want to work and the philosophy behind.
“Everybody accepted their own part of the risk without necessarily having the immediate return on investment in mind.
“We didn't have so much budget, but we had some people there, and we were able to put the brains [together], which cost nothing. That's why we started late, [but] we are not late.”
Formula E’s Gen4 era is scheduled to begin in December 2026.
Read Also:
Formula EFormula E to adopt WEC-style ‘joker’ upgrade system for Gen4
Formula EFormula E working on a longer version of Jeddah F1 track for Gen4 era
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Formula E to adopt WEC-style ‘joker’ upgrade system for Gen4
Next article Formula E targeting up to 19 races, second US round, in first Gen4 season
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Rachit Thukral
Ducati says Aprilia “can do whatever they want” amid team order talks in MotoGP
MotoGP
MotoGP
Australian GP
20 min
Ducati says Aprilia “can do whatever they want” amid team order talks in MotoGP
MotoGP Australian GP: Marco Bezzecchi leads Aprilia 1-2-4-5 in Friday Practice
MotoGP
MotoGP
Australian GP
3 h
MotoGP Australian GP: Marco Bezzecchi leads Aprilia 1-2-4-5 in Friday Practice
More from
Mahindra Racing
How Mahindra missed out on London win but capped its best Formula E season yet
Formula E
Formula E
London ePrix II
How Mahindra missed out on London win but capped its best Formula E season yet
Mahindra is a Formula E frontrunner again, but will it end its five-year victory drought?
Formula E
Formula E
Jeddah ePrix II
Mahindra is a Formula E frontrunner again, but will it end its five-year victory drought?
How Mahindra bounced back from its Formula E nadir - and where it is headed in 2026
Formula E
Formula E
How Mahindra bounced back from its Formula E nadir - and where it is headed in 2026
Latest news
Ducati says Aprilia “can do whatever they want” amid team order talks in MotoGP
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
20 min
Ducati says Aprilia “can do whatever they want” amid team order talks in MotoGP
Why it's now Oliver Bearman versus Rafael Camara for the next Ferrari vacancy
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
41 min
Why it's now Oliver Bearman versus Rafael Camara for the next Ferrari vacancy
MotoGP Australian GP: Marco Bezzecchi leads Aprilia 1-2-4-5 in Friday Practice
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
3 h
MotoGP Australian GP: Marco Bezzecchi leads Aprilia 1-2-4-5 in Friday Practice
Max Verstappen slams “unacceptable” bumps at Austin F1 track: “It's out of control”
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
10 h
Max Verstappen slams “unacceptable” bumps at Austin F1 track: “It's out of control”
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe