Three brands evaluating future WRC move if rules are changed

Following the departure of Citroen at the end of 2019, the WRC has been operating with two full manufacturer entries from Toyota and Hyundai, while Ford is represented in a semi-works guise through M-Sport.

This year the championship has debuted all-new Rally1 hybrid regulations which were originally conceived to increase manufacturer engagement and move the category towards a more sustainable future.

The rules have ensured Toyota and Hyundai remain committed to the WRC, and Ford has stepped up its involvement with the ruleset, that is set to cycle through to the end 2024. But the rules are yet to attract a new marque, a key aim of new FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who stated in December that two and a half manufacturers is “not enough”.

However, Motorsport.com understands Alpine, Skoda and the Stellantis Group, which owns Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroen, Dodge, DS, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot and Vauxhall brands, have declared their interest in joining the WRC, if regulations are changed, with two marques keen for a more electric-based future.

A meeting was held between a group of manufacturers and the FIA at Rally Portugal in May to discuss the future pathway for the WRC. The Renault Group, in the form of Alpine, was in attendance with its Racing Expansion Projects director Davide Brivio on site. It appears for the French brand to commit the WRC would have to adopt full electric cars as its CEO Luca De Meo revealed in February.

“I am interested in exploring, it remains to be seen if we can find the right conditions to participate in the World Rally Championship, but I want to do it with an electric car, which is not possible nowadays,” said De Meo.

Speaking to Motorsport.com earlier this year, newly-installed FIA Rally director Andrew Wheatley hinted that the WRC would adopt an evolution of the Rally1 rules from 2025 onwards, with as much as 80% of the current rules carried over.

It is understood a jump to full electric for 2025 is out of the question, but the FIA hasn’t disregarded the alternative method of propulsion in the future should battery technology improve.

Interestingly the FIA has taken its first steps in that direction with technical and homologation regulations for fully electric FIA Rally5e cars approved at last week’s World Motor Sport Council. This first-ever category of electric rally cars aims to remain close to production models, in the same way as R5 cars which compete in…