WEBVTT - Formula E CEO Jeffrey Dodds Talks Racing

0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:02.000
<v Speaker 1>We are here at the Formula EA circuit where we're

0:00:02.040 --> 0:00:04.920
<v Speaker 1>looking at Temple Half Airport, really steeped a German history,

0:00:04.920 --> 0:00:08.200
<v Speaker 1>but really containing today the future potentially of automotive racing

0:00:08.200 --> 0:00:09.960
<v Speaker 1>and Formula E. I mean, you can see the cars

0:00:10.000 --> 0:00:12.360
<v Speaker 1>behind me just getting lined up there, and these cars

0:00:12.360 --> 0:00:14.080
<v Speaker 1>there are such a rate of change in terms of

0:00:14.080 --> 0:00:16.840
<v Speaker 1>the technology going into these things. You know, acceleration from

0:00:16.920 --> 0:00:19.200
<v Speaker 1>zero to sixty and one point eight two seconds faster

0:00:19.280 --> 0:00:21.279
<v Speaker 1>than Formula one on that point, But where does this

0:00:21.320 --> 0:00:23.440
<v Speaker 1>go as a business? How do you build the fan base? Well,

0:00:23.440 --> 0:00:25.040
<v Speaker 1>we've got the right person to ask that question too.

0:00:25.079 --> 0:00:27.920
<v Speaker 1>It's Jeff As, the CEO of Formulae, who joins us

0:00:27.960 --> 0:00:29.200
<v Speaker 1>now here at the race.

0:00:29.040 --> 0:00:29.480
<v Speaker 2>In the morning.

0:00:29.640 --> 0:00:31.720
<v Speaker 3>Thanks, welcome to Berlin. Yeah, thanks so much.

0:00:31.920 --> 0:00:33.960
<v Speaker 1>So listen, where are we right now on the journey

0:00:33.960 --> 0:00:36.040
<v Speaker 1>for Formulae. We're ten years in, you're a one year

0:00:36.080 --> 0:00:36.760
<v Speaker 1>into your tenure.

0:00:36.840 --> 0:00:38.159
<v Speaker 3>Where are we stand? So sure?

0:00:38.320 --> 0:00:40.920
<v Speaker 2>So Formula E started just ten years ago, so we're

0:00:40.920 --> 0:00:43.000
<v Speaker 2>effectively babies in the world a motor sport if you

0:00:43.040 --> 0:00:44.599
<v Speaker 2>compare that to something like Formula one.

0:00:44.640 --> 0:00:46.320
<v Speaker 3>Formula one around seventy five years old.

0:00:46.840 --> 0:00:48.839
<v Speaker 2>So we're at the start of our journey, but of

0:00:48.880 --> 0:00:52.000
<v Speaker 2>course we have this wonderful tailwind, this tailwind of electrification.

0:00:52.520 --> 0:00:55.680
<v Speaker 2>When Formulae was started just ten years ago, I think

0:00:55.760 --> 0:00:59.240
<v Speaker 2>that year there were three hundred thousand electric vehicles sold

0:00:59.480 --> 0:01:02.280
<v Speaker 2>across the If you compare that to now this year,

0:01:02.520 --> 0:01:04.760
<v Speaker 2>the estimation is around eighteen million electric vehicles will be

0:01:04.800 --> 0:01:07.200
<v Speaker 2>sold this year. So whilst it feels like we're still

0:01:07.200 --> 0:01:10.119
<v Speaker 2>at the very early point of our journey, around twenty

0:01:10.120 --> 0:01:12.039
<v Speaker 2>percent of all cars in the world sold are electric

0:01:12.080 --> 0:01:14.000
<v Speaker 2>at the moment, we still have that kind of eighty

0:01:14.040 --> 0:01:15.160
<v Speaker 2>percent ceiling.

0:01:14.840 --> 0:01:15.360
<v Speaker 3>We're pushing for.

0:01:15.800 --> 0:01:17.160
<v Speaker 1>And part of that journey is going to be for

0:01:17.319 --> 0:01:20.360
<v Speaker 1>you defining yourself that as just an alternative to Formula ryan.

0:01:20.400 --> 0:01:21.720
<v Speaker 1>So how do you make it not the sort of

0:01:21.920 --> 0:01:24.200
<v Speaker 1>beyond me a Formula one? How are you how any

0:01:24.240 --> 0:01:24.920
<v Speaker 1>possession for there?

0:01:24.959 --> 0:01:26.880
<v Speaker 2>Yes, so obviously everybody speaks to me. They speak to

0:01:26.920 --> 0:01:29.000
<v Speaker 2>me about the comparisons with Formula one, which is perfectly

0:01:29.000 --> 0:01:31.440
<v Speaker 2>logical because we're a world championship, we're single seat of

0:01:31.520 --> 0:01:34.200
<v Speaker 2>racing cars and we're racing on tracks. But when Formulae

0:01:34.319 --> 0:01:37.080
<v Speaker 2>was founded, it had three principles. One of those was

0:01:37.120 --> 0:01:38.520
<v Speaker 2>to be an elite world championship.

0:01:38.600 --> 0:01:39.199
<v Speaker 3>Racing series.

0:01:39.319 --> 0:01:41.560
<v Speaker 2>So it was all about racing, and we would argue

0:01:41.640 --> 0:01:44.480
<v Speaker 2>quite strongly we have the most competitive racing series in

0:01:44.520 --> 0:01:47.240
<v Speaker 2>the world right now. But the two other ambitions were

0:01:47.560 --> 0:01:51.240
<v Speaker 2>one the tech transfer to develop latest electric vehicle technology,

0:01:51.280 --> 0:01:54.240
<v Speaker 2>to be at the cutting edge of EV technology. And

0:01:54.280 --> 0:01:56.800
<v Speaker 2>you see here racing today our manufacturer apartment. So you

0:01:56.840 --> 0:02:02.440
<v Speaker 2>see Porsche, Jaguar, Nissan, mahindrast antis Eart. You've seen manufacturers

0:02:02.640 --> 0:02:05.480
<v Speaker 2>and they're developing tech on the racetrack that will make

0:02:05.520 --> 0:02:06.160
<v Speaker 2>its way into.

0:02:06.040 --> 0:02:06.760
<v Speaker 3>Their road cars.

0:02:07.080 --> 0:02:09.560
<v Speaker 2>And the third thing we found it for was sustainability.

0:02:10.000 --> 0:02:12.000
<v Speaker 2>So we wanted to be a platform that could educate

0:02:12.000 --> 0:02:15.040
<v Speaker 2>the world around climate change and the role that electric

0:02:15.120 --> 0:02:17.520
<v Speaker 2>vehicles can plain decarbonizing road transport.

0:02:18.040 --> 0:02:18.760
<v Speaker 3>So three things.

0:02:19.160 --> 0:02:20.760
<v Speaker 1>And so I mean the rate of change has been

0:02:20.760 --> 0:02:23.040
<v Speaker 1>absolutely breathtakings where I mean, you've doubled the horse power

0:02:23.040 --> 0:02:24.959
<v Speaker 1>in ten years. The new carrier putting out at the

0:02:25.040 --> 0:02:26.320
<v Speaker 1>end of the season is going to go, you know,

0:02:26.400 --> 0:02:29.200
<v Speaker 1>accelerate thirty percent faster. I mean, these are really breathtaking

0:02:29.280 --> 0:02:30.440
<v Speaker 1>sort of changes in technology.

0:02:30.600 --> 0:02:31.480
<v Speaker 3>What more is coming?

0:02:31.480 --> 0:02:33.440
<v Speaker 1>What does the sport look like in a couple of years.

0:02:33.840 --> 0:02:35.960
<v Speaker 2>So really the really simple answers to that is when

0:02:35.960 --> 0:02:40.520
<v Speaker 2>you look at the car development. Longer, faster, Yeah, the

0:02:40.520 --> 0:02:42.680
<v Speaker 2>two things people want to see. So today the racing

0:02:42.680 --> 0:02:45.040
<v Speaker 2>and formula is about forty to fifty minutes long, which

0:02:45.080 --> 0:02:48.240
<v Speaker 2>actually is really interesting because it's really good for family viewing.

0:02:48.280 --> 0:02:51.400
<v Speaker 2>So we're attracting a different audience to traditional motorsport like

0:02:51.440 --> 0:02:52.240
<v Speaker 2>Formula one, where the.

0:02:52.240 --> 0:02:54.000
<v Speaker 3>Race is about an hour and a half long. But

0:02:54.120 --> 0:02:54.920
<v Speaker 3>we want to have.

0:02:54.840 --> 0:02:57.360
<v Speaker 2>The ability to race for longer in the future, and

0:02:57.400 --> 0:02:59.280
<v Speaker 2>that means batteries with bigger capacity.

0:02:59.600 --> 0:03:01.200
<v Speaker 3>And the same thing is faster. I mean, this is

0:03:01.200 --> 0:03:03.679
<v Speaker 3>a mostor sport. Everyone wanted to go faster, so you're right.

0:03:03.720 --> 0:03:05.520
<v Speaker 2>We announced a car that will be on the track

0:03:05.560 --> 0:03:08.200
<v Speaker 2>for next year will be thirty percent faster than the

0:03:08.240 --> 0:03:10.560
<v Speaker 2>current Formula one car, not to sixty and one point

0:03:10.560 --> 0:03:11.359
<v Speaker 2>eight two seconds.

0:03:11.520 --> 0:03:13.320
<v Speaker 3>But also people like a bit of top end speed

0:03:13.320 --> 0:03:13.679
<v Speaker 3>as well.

0:03:13.720 --> 0:03:15.440
<v Speaker 2>So these cars you see behind you here will go

0:03:15.440 --> 0:03:16.440
<v Speaker 2>about two hundred.

0:03:16.160 --> 0:03:17.600
<v Speaker 3>Miles an hour at the top end.

0:03:17.840 --> 0:03:19.359
<v Speaker 2>Over time, I would expect to see they go to

0:03:19.400 --> 0:03:21.520
<v Speaker 2>two twenty two thirty two forty. So the cars are

0:03:21.520 --> 0:03:23.280
<v Speaker 2>getting faster, the batteries are getting bigger.

0:03:23.320 --> 0:03:24.720
<v Speaker 1>So here's the question, will it ever be fair so

0:03:24.800 --> 0:03:25.680
<v Speaker 1>than a Formula one.

0:03:25.520 --> 0:03:28.080
<v Speaker 3>But it's already faster than the Formula one in acceleration seation,

0:03:28.720 --> 0:03:29.600
<v Speaker 3>you know, if we wanted to.

0:03:29.680 --> 0:03:31.640
<v Speaker 2>And I think one of the interesting obviously for bloomboag

0:03:31.680 --> 0:03:33.440
<v Speaker 2>viewers that are very interested in business, one of the

0:03:33.520 --> 0:03:37.440
<v Speaker 2>key things is the economic return on investment. So if

0:03:37.440 --> 0:03:40.080
<v Speaker 2>you think about formulae, the cost cap in Formula EE,

0:03:40.120 --> 0:03:42.800
<v Speaker 2>so the amount these teams can spend every year is

0:03:42.840 --> 0:03:44.440
<v Speaker 2>around thirteen million euros.

0:03:44.600 --> 0:03:45.640
<v Speaker 3>That's all they can spend.

0:03:45.960 --> 0:03:47.640
<v Speaker 2>If you compare that to Formula one, where the cost

0:03:47.680 --> 0:03:50.600
<v Speaker 2>cover is about one hundred and forty million dollars, so

0:03:50.760 --> 0:03:52.800
<v Speaker 2>they have around ten percent of the budget to play with.

0:03:52.920 --> 0:03:53.920
<v Speaker 3>So of course if I gave.

0:03:53.760 --> 0:03:56.240
<v Speaker 2>Them a budget of one hundred and forty million euros,

0:03:56.480 --> 0:03:58.040
<v Speaker 2>they could develop cars that would.

0:03:57.800 --> 0:04:00.800
<v Speaker 3>Go much faster than Formula one cars with the let technology.

0:04:00.920 --> 0:04:04.160
<v Speaker 2>But the reality is we view ourselves as an inclusive motorsports,

0:04:04.400 --> 0:04:06.600
<v Speaker 2>not an exclusive one. This is not about the richest

0:04:07.520 --> 0:04:09.120
<v Speaker 2>organizations in the world taking past.

0:04:09.240 --> 0:04:10.720
<v Speaker 3>We want everyone to be presmably.

0:04:10.800 --> 0:04:12.480
<v Speaker 1>You want to grow your sponsorship, you want to grow

0:04:12.520 --> 0:04:14.040
<v Speaker 1>that beast. You want to get more money in because

0:04:14.040 --> 0:04:15.360
<v Speaker 1>it will bring more fans and there will be a

0:04:15.440 --> 0:04:16.400
<v Speaker 1>virture say at the.

0:04:16.360 --> 0:04:19.400
<v Speaker 2>Right pace, we need to support our manufacturers here because

0:04:19.400 --> 0:04:21.560
<v Speaker 2>a lot of them we're using the racetrackers of laboratory

0:04:21.680 --> 0:04:24.799
<v Speaker 2>to develop new technology. So it's about manufacturers and teams.

0:04:25.040 --> 0:04:27.440
<v Speaker 2>It's about growing a fan base and that's growing very quickly,

0:04:27.440 --> 0:04:30.479
<v Speaker 2>as you mentioned upfront. And then it's about growing the

0:04:30.560 --> 0:04:32.080
<v Speaker 2>total value of the organization.

0:04:32.160 --> 0:04:33.960
<v Speaker 3>But where would you like that to be? Whe would

0:04:33.960 --> 0:04:35.200
<v Speaker 3>you like to see the total value?

0:04:35.880 --> 0:04:38.880
<v Speaker 2>Well, so we don't talk about our value today publicly.

0:04:38.920 --> 0:04:41.679
<v Speaker 2>We have two very large investors in Liberty Global, Warner

0:04:41.720 --> 0:04:44.560
<v Speaker 2>Brothers Discovery, but as I say, this is a business

0:04:44.560 --> 0:04:47.880
<v Speaker 2>that's only ten years old, so they're investing for what

0:04:47.880 --> 0:04:49.800
<v Speaker 2>they believe the future of this business could be.

0:04:50.200 --> 0:04:52.080
<v Speaker 3>I think fan based, though, is a good proxy.

0:04:52.320 --> 0:04:55.120
<v Speaker 2>So when I started about a year ago, the fan

0:04:55.160 --> 0:04:57.440
<v Speaker 2>base in formulary was about two hundred and.

0:04:57.240 --> 0:04:58.760
<v Speaker 3>Ninety million fans globally.

0:04:59.320 --> 0:05:01.080
<v Speaker 2>As of now, the latest time we did the big

0:05:01.120 --> 0:05:03.760
<v Speaker 2>survey it was up to nearly four hundred million fans,

0:05:03.960 --> 0:05:05.560
<v Speaker 2>so around thirty percent growth in a year.

0:05:05.640 --> 0:05:08.000
<v Speaker 3>This is a business that's growing exceptionally.

0:05:07.560 --> 0:05:09.039
<v Speaker 1>Quickly, and in terms of the other thing that you

0:05:09.080 --> 0:05:12.000
<v Speaker 1>need to do is also attracting other OEM's other manufacturers

0:05:12.000 --> 0:05:15.240
<v Speaker 1>to the sport, right your West Mercedes BMW, they step back.

0:05:15.320 --> 0:05:16.760
<v Speaker 1>What I'm surprised by is that there are now more

0:05:16.839 --> 0:05:19.960
<v Speaker 1>Chinese automakers full league who have really dominated the EV race.

0:05:20.040 --> 0:05:21.400
<v Speaker 3>Are you in conversations with them?

0:05:21.440 --> 0:05:21.520
<v Speaker 1>Oh?

0:05:21.600 --> 0:05:22.080
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, of course.

0:05:22.080 --> 0:05:24.880
<v Speaker 2>So you have the big Chinese automotive group, so b

0:05:25.040 --> 0:05:29.880
<v Speaker 2>YD now becoming prevalent across the world. In fact, I

0:05:29.960 --> 0:05:33.240
<v Speaker 2>think the biggest EV manufacturer now in the world, You've.

0:05:33.120 --> 0:05:35.040
<v Speaker 3>Got Guinea Group. Could you see a BYD team and

0:05:35.040 --> 0:05:36.760
<v Speaker 3>the absolutely see a BYD team.

0:05:36.760 --> 0:05:39.279
<v Speaker 2>I could see a Geelee Group team like Lotus or

0:05:39.400 --> 0:05:43.599
<v Speaker 2>Zeka Saic who obviously owned brands like MG approssibly, so

0:05:43.720 --> 0:05:45.520
<v Speaker 2>absolutely I can see your Chinese team. We actually have

0:05:45.520 --> 0:05:48.720
<v Speaker 2>two Chinese teams here, we have eer T, but.

0:05:48.720 --> 0:05:49.520
<v Speaker 3>We also have in visions.

0:05:49.520 --> 0:05:50.640
<v Speaker 1>What about a Tesla team.

0:05:51.160 --> 0:05:53.240
<v Speaker 3>I think Tesla's unlikely, and I'll tell you why. I

0:05:53.279 --> 0:05:54.040
<v Speaker 3>think it's unlikely.

0:05:54.400 --> 0:05:56.000
<v Speaker 2>So all of the teams here are racing on a

0:05:56.000 --> 0:05:58.560
<v Speaker 2>common battery, so I'm not sure that Tesla would be

0:05:58.640 --> 0:06:00.880
<v Speaker 2>so keen to run on a back that isn't their own.

0:06:01.440 --> 0:06:03.560
<v Speaker 2>The second thing for Tesla I would say is they

0:06:03.600 --> 0:06:05.560
<v Speaker 2>are you know they are the dominant force in the

0:06:05.560 --> 0:06:07.880
<v Speaker 2>electric vehicle manufacturer. They were the people that started it

0:06:07.920 --> 0:06:08.680
<v Speaker 2>all pretty.

0:06:08.400 --> 0:06:10.200
<v Speaker 3>Much with the roadster. I'm not sure.

0:06:10.320 --> 0:06:12.279
<v Speaker 2>They don't need the exposure, so they don't need the

0:06:12.279 --> 0:06:14.400
<v Speaker 2>pr around it. And the final thing I would say

0:06:14.480 --> 0:06:15.920
<v Speaker 2>is a lot of the teams here have been racing

0:06:16.400 --> 0:06:19.120
<v Speaker 2>informed for a long time. Tesla would not be competitive

0:06:19.120 --> 0:06:21.080
<v Speaker 2>from day one, and I'm not sure how that would.

0:06:20.839 --> 0:06:26.200
<v Speaker 3>Fit with that a challenge I would love you long

0:06:26.240 --> 0:06:27.840
<v Speaker 3>to call me. I'm just not sure will the top

0:06:27.880 --> 0:06:28.320
<v Speaker 3>of their list.

0:06:28.400 --> 0:06:31.159
<v Speaker 1>And in terms of your fan base and wererowing a

0:06:31.440 --> 0:06:33.120
<v Speaker 1>on some from scratch, where are you seeing the biggest

0:06:33.160 --> 0:06:34.880
<v Speaker 1>pick up? Where are your biggest fans, Where are the

0:06:34.920 --> 0:06:35.920
<v Speaker 1>most successful right now?

0:06:35.920 --> 0:06:37.560
<v Speaker 3>So Southeast Asia, across China.

0:06:37.560 --> 0:06:39.400
<v Speaker 2>We have over one hundred million fans in China alone,

0:06:39.400 --> 0:06:41.839
<v Speaker 2>so growing incredibly to your point about the Chinese DV

0:06:41.960 --> 0:06:44.760
<v Speaker 2>market growing, But our fan base is very different to

0:06:44.800 --> 0:06:47.320
<v Speaker 2>motorsport traditionally. So if you think about our fan base

0:06:47.480 --> 0:06:50.679
<v Speaker 2>roughly split fifty to fifty male female, that's incredibly different

0:06:50.720 --> 0:06:53.440
<v Speaker 2>to motorsport. Roughly half of our fans are under the

0:06:53.520 --> 0:06:55.680
<v Speaker 2>age of forty and they all have an interest in

0:06:56.120 --> 0:07:00.680
<v Speaker 2>climate chain sustainability, innovation and technology, so it's a quite

0:07:00.680 --> 0:07:03.479
<v Speaker 2>a different audience. So whilst it's growing quickly, it's growing

0:07:03.480 --> 0:07:05.200
<v Speaker 2>outside of a traditional motorscall base.

0:07:05.520 --> 0:07:08.479
<v Speaker 1>Jeff Dodds, thank you so much for Formulae joining us

0:07:08.480 --> 0:07:11.800
<v Speaker 1>here at Temple Hoff Raffeld Airport. The racetrack that's happening,

0:07:12.000 --> 0:07:14.240
<v Speaker 1>The race cappening this weekening Saturday and Sunday, starting at

0:07:14.280 --> 0:07:16.080
<v Speaker 1>three pm tomorrow and as you can see, all the

0:07:16.120 --> 0:07:18.320
<v Speaker 1>cars getting prepped and ready for the race tomorrow