UC's winning electric race car takes on China

The innovative UCM25 race car, designed by the UC Motorsport (UCM) student club, won the regional Formula SAE-Australasia in Melbourne in 2025 and will now compete at Formula Student China in Hefei from 17 to 22 November. 

Up to 50 UC engineering students spend thousands of hours each year designing, building, and testing a formula-style electric race car at Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury (UC) – on top of their full-time study.

Engineering skills beyond the lecture room

UCM25 features a lightweight carbon-fibre chassis, custom-made wheels and components, and electrical systems developed by the students, including its battery and battery management system.

The team put the car through an intensive testing programme, identifying and fixing problems until it was reliable enough to take the overall title at Formula SAE-Australasia.

Team Principal Moss Benton says not all UCM team members are car enthusiasts – some are just drawn by the engineering challenge and the chance to build teamwork, communication and leadership skills in a high-pressure, real-world project.

"UCM takes what you learn in class and forces you to apply it in the real world," he says. "You are constantly making trade-offs, working across disciplines, managing risk and communicating clearly when the pressure is on. It has given me practical experience and confidence; it shows I can be part of a team that takes a complex project from concept through to something that performs on the track."

Leading the team has taught him as much about leadership as it has about engineering. "You come into it thinking it's this hard technical challenge, and it's actually a people problem," Benton says. 

Former UCM members have gone on to work in some of the world's most exciting engineering industries, from Formula 1 and motorsport to aerospace and advanced manufacturing, he says. “Industry loves UCM for the skills the club teaches us.”

Taking Kiwi innovation to the world

UC graduate Dino Kudrass, Executive General Manager – Agri at Skellerup, knows the value of the experience firsthand, having been involved in the early stages of UCM in 2013 and 2014.

"Since then, the team have evolved in so many positive ways, while maintaining the same spirit of innovation and learning," he says. 

Kudrass says competing in China, New Zealand's largest trading partner, offers valuable opportunities for students to build international connections and gain experience working across cultures.

"I am convinced that our young Kiwi professionals benefit from expanding their horizons by engaging in intercultural collaboration and exchange with this part of the world, while also acting as first class ambassadors for our culture, values and engineering competency."

Two cars, two competitions, one ambitious team

As UCM25 prepares for its international debut in China, the students are also gearing up to compete with an entirely new race car in Adelaide, Australia.

The team's latest creation, UCM26, will be unveiled on 21 October before competing at Formula SAE-Australasia from 7 to 10 December.

It is the first time the team has campaigned two cars at two competitions in the same year, presenting funding and logistical challenges on top of complex engineering problems.

UCM26 represents a major leap forward, with the team moving from two-wheel drive to four-wheel drive and introducing a lighter, higher-performing battery design. The upgrades offer the potential for greater performance but also introduce new engineering challenges. 

Benton is completing an engineering final-year project on the car's aerodynamics and is excited by the potential of the new design. "UCM26 is our most ambitious car yet. We've pushed the boundaries of what we've done before, and we believe it has the potential to break records," he says.

UCM is supported by principal partner Rodin Cars, which provides financial backing as well as in-kind access to specialist manufacturing equipment, including an autoclave for curing carbon fibre components and titanium 3D printing facilities, resources otherwise unavailable to UCM in the South Island.

The team also receives support from the UC, UC's Mechanical, Electrical and Computer Engineering departments, alongside platinum sponsors Skellerup Industries Limited, Drivetrain Innovation, HamiltonJet, Teng Tools, and many other industry partners.