Peugeot Mulls Return to Endurance Racing

PSA Group's Peugeot unit may join FIA’s World Endurance Championship (WEC) racing series to fill the void left by Audi, which announced in October that it was dropping out of the competition to focus on Formula E electric vehicle racing.

Porsche and Toyota are the only carmakers currently committed to participate in WEC, which includes the 24 Hours Le Mans. Porsche won both the manufacturers’ and drivers’ titles for the second consecutive year in the just-completed 2016 season.

WEC officials and other teams are lobbying Peugeot to join the circuit based on the carmaker’s previous success in endurance racing, sources tell Automotive News Europe. Peugeot dueled Audi for track supremacy during the 2000s, scoring a 1-2 finish at Le Mans in 2009, but financial problems forced the French company to drop endurance racing in 2012.

PSA CEO Carlos Tavares is a big supporter of racing. He tells ANE that motorsports can “create brand value on a long-term basis.”

But other company officials caution that PSA still needs to shore up its bottom line before it could join WEC. Other stipulations include setting unspecified spending restrictions for the racing program and being given enough time to develop a car that can compete against Porsche and Toyota. For now, the company’s motorsports efforts are focused on next month’s grueling, off-road Dakar Rally.

Industry observers estimate it would cost at least €80 million ($86 million) per year to field a WEC team.