(This story originally appeared in on Nov 29, 2013)

MUMBAI: After making a splash in the world of MotoGP, Mahindra Racing, a part of the Mahindra Group, on Thursday announced its participation in the inaugural FIA Formula E Championship beginning September 2014.

The group signed an agreement with promoters Formula E Holdings to become the eighth and only Indian team to join the new zero emission series.

The all-electric global race series will include 10 races in its first season in city-centre locations around the world, including London, Beijing and Los Angeles, and is designed to raise awareness about electric vehicles as well as help advance EV technology.

Apart from Mahindra Racing, Drayson Racing, China Racing, Andretti Autosport, Dragon Racing, E.Dams, Super Aguri and Audi Sport ABT are also taking part, and two more teams will be added in due course.

The move will further propel Mahindra & Mahindra's ambition to be a global player and make it more visible in the international arena and also help the company spread awareness about electric vehicles.

"We strongly believe that Formula E can provide an excellent global showcase for our electric vehicle technology," said Anand Mahindra, chairman and managing director of Mahindra Group. "With advanced operations and expertise in electronics, IT, automotive technologies and manufacturing, we are already seeing the fusion of this technology into our electric vehicle operations. Racing will further accelerate that trend while Formula E is set to raise awareness globally about the benefits of electric vehicles."

The series has already generated significant interest globally. In fact, EY recently released a report forecasting that Formula E will help contribute to the additional sale of 77 million electric vehicles worldwide over the next 25 years.

Chetan Maini, CEO, Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles, told ET that it is a win-win situation for the company as it combines the group's brand aspiration and technology and puts it together on the world stage. "It also helps in building awareness for the electric vehicle, which is a much bigger challenge then we thought."

The company said it was a natural step forward for the Mahindra Group to join the Formula E Championship through the expertise of Mahindra Reva's electric vehicle capability. In the first year, all participants will get the same car but from the second year onwards, they can develop their own power train batteries.

"We do see ourselves playing a role as far as key component enhancement in these cars, which are critical. The core technology is lithium ion and energy management system, it is about adopting them smartly. I see us being able to contribute a lot and learning a lot. Racing normally pushes you to the cutting edge. I would say things like chassis, motor, connectivety, battery technology management is where we can learn and offer our expertise too," added Maini.

According to a recent survey done by Mahindra Reva in three cities, the awareness for electric vehicles is just 30%. It showed that electric vehicles are not even part of the consideration set of the large part of the market. Initiatives such as these may help in spreading a word about electric vehicles that they can be fun and torquey too.