The Formula SAE/Formula Student is a comprehensive engineering education competition for college students. It was launched by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) in 1979. With a history of over 40 years, the competition is held in many countries around the world. In the FSAE competition, the racing cars must be conceptualized, designed, manufactured, and maintained by the members of student teams. These cars will be evaluated in a series of static and dynamic events. Therefore, the FSAE project is a comprehensive competition that combines science and engineering knowledge, practical processing, and project management, which is different from other simple racing – type competitions in the past.

The FSAE project in China started relatively late. In December 2008, during the annual meeting of the Education Branch of the China Society of Automotive Engineers held in Changchun, the preparation for the first Formula Student China competition in 2010 was included in the work plan and implementation. The organizing committee of the Formula Student China competition was established. The competition was named the Formula Student China (FSC).

The FSC is a competition for designing and manufacturing cars. College students majoring in automotive engineering or related fields form teams to participate. According to the competition rules and car manufacturing standards, each participating team independently designs, manufactures, and tunes a small single – seat racing car that performs well in acceleration, braking, and handling within nearly a year, and is able to complete all or part of the competition sessions. During the design and manufacturing process, it not only tests the team’s engineering practice ability but also evaluates the team’s comprehensive capabilities in engineering management, commercial marketing, cost control, investment promotion, and publicity.

The FSC includes four sub – events: Formula Student Combustion China (FSCC), Formula Student Electric China (FSEC), Baja SAE China (BSC), and Formula Student Autonomous China (FSAC). The first FSCC in 2010 was jointly initiated and organized by the China Society of Automotive Engineers, the automotive departments of 21 universities (colleges) in China, and Bitauto. The first FSEC kicked off at the Shanghai Audi International Circuit on November 3, 2015. The first FSAC, was held in 2017. It is the highest – level innovation competition in the series of science popularization center events launched by the China Society of Automotive Engineers.

The FSC adheres to the tenet of “Made in China, Driving the Future”. Based on the current situation of China’s automotive engineering education and automotive industry, it absorbs and learns from the successful experience of international Formula Student competitions. It aims to create a new public education platform to cultivate future leaders and engineers in China’s automotive industry. Through years of efforts, it has gradually developed into an interactive exchange event for international young automotive engineers. The FSC improves students’ abilities in five aspects: design, manufacturing, cost control, commercial marketing, and communication and collaboration through comprehensive training, comprehensively enhancing the comprehensive quality of automotive – major students, building up talent reserves for the development of China’s automotive industry, and promoting the transformation of China’s automotive industry from a “manufacturing giant” to an “industrial powerhouse”.