Andretti could become a vehicle for the introduction of an additional Nissan-affiliated brand in Gen4 of Formula E, The Race has learned.
Formula E has various models used by its manufacturers but the majority, at present, favour a reasonably simple customer-supplier transaction.
But with Porsche aggressively expanding to two factory teams next season, its rivals will be evaluating their plans for the Gen4 period to maximise their sporting and marketing return-on-investment.
That is why talks have already taken place between Andretti and Nissan about the possibility of one of Nissan's other brands being represented on the grid.
Although Nissan has several brands under its umbrella, Infiniti could be at the forefront of a possible entry into Formula E as it is embarking on an all-electric strategy for the US market - where Formula E targets at least two races from 2027 onwards - into the next decade.
Infiniti, a brand within the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance group, aims to become 100% electric by 2030. Its Infiniti Vision Qe model, a fastback sedan, will feature dual-motors and an all-wheel-drive system.
However, other brands such as Renault, Alpine, Mitsubishi, Venucia and Mobilize could also be attractive should Nissan elect to introduce them. Renault has Formula E experience and enjoyed a successful time in the discipline via the edams concern between 2014-18, while Alpine has active F1 and sportscar programmes from a global perspective.
Venucia is a Chinese brand under the Dongfeng Motor Co Ltd side of the Nissan business, and the Mobilize brand name is a mobility and financial services arm of the group.
While Andretti team principal Roger Griffiths would not discuss specific manufacturers or brands (Andretti's anticipated deal with Nissan won't be made public until this summer), he did touch upon the fertile ground he believes Andretti offers to manufacturers generally.
"Those conversations [about working with an automotive brand within a manufacturer] have already been had," he told The Race in Mexico last weekend.
"There are some advantages there and we're certainly very open to having conversations about what kind of commercial relationship we can have on top of the operational and engineering relationship.
"We are a very different team to where we were in the BMW days [2018-21] and even at the start of season nine [2022-23, its first as a Porsche customer]. With the sort of buyout of Michael Andretti and the TWG component coming on board, and resources that are now available to us, I think we are quite an attractive proposition, whereas before we were just a race team.
"Particularly with some of the other partners that are involved within the TWG empire, there's a lot of interesting crossover to other sports properties that another manufacturer brand may well be interested in exploring."
Nissan was the first Formula E manufacturer to commit to the Gen4 ruleset in March 2024 - and despite its automotive business, like that of the majority of large scale car manufacturers, being hit by some erratic sales figures, Nissan is seen as a manufacturer that will be in the all-electric world championship until 2030 at least.
Its Formula E boss Tommaso Volpe is a former Infiniti Global Motorsport manager, and held that position for Infiniti from 2014-20 before joining the Nissan Formula E team.
Volpe told The Race that any additional brand introduced to Formula E would have to be carefully thought out and that the ultimate decision would rest with Nissan itself if it were to happen at all.
"We don't have this plan at the moment and our approach for Gen4 is quite a standard one at present," said Volpe.
"We still think that this is the right way to have the right paradigmatic approach. It is probably the right one for Gen4."
In a thinly-veiled dig at Porsche and its recent decision to double up on its factory approach via a new satellite team to be run from Weissach from 2026-27 season onwards, Volpe expressed that he was “surprised that the sport is going in a slightly different direction for some other manufacturers” but that “at the moment, this has not changed our mind".
"If this will happen in the future, I cannot say at this stage.”
Any introduction of an additional Nissan-flavoured brand such as Infiniti would also obviously need approval at the board level.
“It's going to be a total Nissan decision to have another Nissan group brand involved in the sport, and like any decision in Nissan will be carefully taken.
“Nissan is in Formula E because it is a project which we believe is very close to our strategic objectives as a business, so we really see it as a very important pillar of our business strategy.
“Anything around it has to make sense from the business perspective.”
