Jaguar is a good step, but it must not end there

With the news that Jaguar are entering Formula E, the sport most not stop there in encouraging road manufacturers to join the all-electric racing series.

When Jaguar enter for season three, in 2016, that will bring the number of vehicle manufacturers involved to six: Audi, McLaren, Renault, Citroen, Jaguar and Mahindra.

This, of course, is an impressive number for a series that will only be three years old. And it is also an impressive list of manufacturers.

But there is a whole market left to attempt to break into. Japan, for example, is a world leader in technology and engineering.

However, there are no races in Japan. There are no manufacturers from Japan. Yet it is home to Nissan, Toyota, Honda, Lexus, Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Yamaha.

Nissan and Toyota are involved in the World Endurance Championship; Honda in Formula One; Lexus in Super GT; Yamaha in MotoGP; Mazda in IMSA.

Suzuki and Mitsubishi have had involvement in the World Rally Championship before, and Toyota have been in F1 before.

There is a racing pedigree in Japan. Wouldn’t it be nice if one of these manufacturers joined Jaguar in entering Formula E for season three? Or even season four?

That said, Japan is not the only market for Formula E to consider. What if, for example, the most famous electric car manufacturer, Tesla, entered the sport?

Jaguar, along with the other manufacturers already involved in the sport, are a good step forward. But Formula E has to keep moving forward. Standing still, and not getting more car companies in, will not be enough.

There are plenty of places for the series to go. The key is targeting the right ones.