Following the successive exits of Audi and Porsche from the FIA World Endurance Championship at the end of the 2016 and 2017 seasons, due to the fallout of the Volkswagen emissions scandal at the parent company of both automobile manufacturers, as well as spiralling costs in the LMP1-Hybrid Category, the ACO began a series of discussions aimed at reducing the costs of competition for the next generation LMP1 rules.