NEXTEV have confirmed that Gérry Hughes, previously Acting Team Principal and Chief Race Engineer of the Chinese Formula E Team, has been appointed as Team Principal.
Alongside this role, he is also taking up a new position of Head of Performance Programme for NIO. This will see Gérry assume responsibilities on the NIO supercar programme; the global start-up unveiled the 1 MegaWatt EP9 supercar on 21 November, which has already achieved the fastest EV lap time at the Nordschleife.
Gérry joined the Formula E Team in December 2015 in the position of Chief Race Engineer. He took on duties as Acting Team Principal after the passing of Dr Martin Leach in November 2016. He will now fulfil the Team Principal role on a permanent basis.
“Taking on the role of project lead for both the Formula E team and EP9 supercar programmes will include new challenges for me, but they are challenges that my team and I relish.
“I must thank everyone at NIO for their support and confidence in me during this transitional period. I am extremely honoured that William Li and Lihong Qin have given me this opportunity and I will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that both programmes are a success going forwards,” said Hughes.
Gérry’s motorsport experience prior to Formula E includes Formula 1, where he has fulfilled engineering roles with Caterham, Cosworth, LOLA, Super Aguri, Red Bull, Jordan and Jaguar, Indycar and touring cars.
