DS Performance developed the drivetrain for the DSV-01, DS Virgin racing team's Formula E car,.

PSA/Peugeot-Citroen’s DS Automobiles upscale brand has created a motorsports unit to support its racing activities that could provide future technology for production electric and high-performance cars.

The new division, DS Performance, will support the DS Virgin racing team, a Formula E partnership between the automaker and Virgin, PSA said in a statement.

The unit developed much of DSV-01, the team’s electric Formula E car for 2016, including the electric motor, transmission cooling system and rear suspension. The motor management system was designed in partnership with Magneti Marelli.

In the statement, Yves Bonnefont, CEO of DS, said the unit "will stand as a true showcase of the technological expertise and avant-garde spirit of the DS brand."

Technology developed in the unit could find its way into high-performance and electric production vehicles, reports said, although DS did not comment on such a possibility.

It said the new division will step up r&d in technologies such as plug-in hybrids and all-electric power that PSA is already working on. The statement added that the research "will benefit the DS brand in the long term."

The unit will be based at the PSA Excellence Center in Satory, France.

DS presented its only performance model, the limited-edition DS3 Racing based on the DS3 R3 rally car, in 2010. The brand doesn’t currently have an all-electric model in its lineup.