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Even since first shaking hands with FIFA in 1999, Hyundai Kia locked the World Cup official cooperation until 2030, Chinese automakers still took a different path, each opening a door for themselves.
Changan went to Lisbon, signed the Portugal national team; GAC dug into Mexico City, bound to the century-old club Toluca FC; Chery directly revived the Spanish local brand EBRO from decades ago, allowing it to stand by the Spain team as "one of them"; BYD and Geely though didn't touch teams, but via CCTV broadcasts and Xiaohongshu, stuffed the brand into fans' mobile phone screens.
A few years ago at the Qatar World Cup, Chinese automakers were still erecting billboards on the sidelines. A few years later, Chinese independent brands have learned to "take a detour to enter". In the past, many believed there was a cognitive barrier between Chinese automakers going global with products and going global with brands. Now, this is no longer a problem. From government procurement to youth training, from national team IP to local clubs, Chinese automakers are using the World Cup as a lever to complete the critical leap from "product going global" to "brand going global".
The Miracle of Cape Verde, BYD's Foresight
Many feel that the Cape Verde Ambassador to China announcing all national official vehicles will switch to BYD is a friendly diplomatic gesture. In reality, the strategy behind this decision is far more complex than it appears on the surface.
Cape Verde is composed entirely of islands, no oil and gas resources, fuel entirely imported. BYD gives not just cars, but a whole "PV + Electric Vehicle" solution. This approach is helping Chinese automakers open a government vehicle market previously held by German and Japanese systems. Several countries in West and East Africa, also struggling under fuel import costs, have started follow-up research.
And the gain BYD made from this matter in Cape Verde is far more than just a few government orders. From another angle, Cape Verde's World Cup dark horse story equaled a free global brand promotion for BYD. An island nation with 540,000 population, continuously drawing Spain and Uruguay to a stalemate, dragging defending champion Argentina into extra time, this not only made the world remember Cape Verde, but also made fans remember the BYD logo on Cape Verde's official fleet. The gold content of this brand exposure is higher than any ad placement. The Cape Verde Ambassador to China voluntarily announcing the procurement decision in front of media is equivalent to globally backing Chinese new energy brands with official status. This recognition is something money cannot buy.
For BYD, betting on a correct team is not the ultimate goal, the long-term gain behind each bet is the key. BYD previously supported the private youth training organization "China Football Minors", which has successively won the Thailand Asian Youth Cup and Italy's "Little World Cup". During the World Cup, BYD also funded Football Minors to go to Brazil and Mexico to play friendly matches with local power youth training teams. They walked into the Azteca Stadium to watch the World Cup match on site, and also visited BYD's overseas largest production base in Camaçari, Brazil. For these children playing football, seeing with their own eyes that Chinese brands own factories of such scale in a foreign land is more direct than any patriotic education class. For BYD, what this investment seeks is not what these children can bring today, but many years later, when these children become the backbone of society, their memory starting point regarding football, the world, and Chinese car brands is BYD.
Looking at these moves together, BYD's route is clear. Whether there is a FIFA official sponsor logo spot doesn't matter, start cultivating deeply from the soil of youth training, start infiltration from government procurement in African island nations, use CCTV and Xiaohongshu channels to reach consumers. The same money, spent on short-term exposure is a one-time consumption, spent on brand mindset building is compound interest. When other brands are still calculating ad conversion rates, BYD is already doing compound interest investment on brand assets.
After this World Cup ends, the dark horse popularity of Cape Verde will eventually fade, but BYD's charging piles and after-sales service network there will not withdraw; whether Football Minors will go to the World Cup in the future, no one knows, but those children's recognition of the brand will not disappear. What BYD wants is always the long-term benefits brought by three lines running in parallel.
Changan's 500 Million Bet, The Ambition of a New Central Enterprise Going Global Behind It
For this World Cup, Changan made a big gamble. On May 22, 2026, Changan Motors signed in Lisbon with the Portuguese Football Association, becoming the Portuguese National Team's Global Official Partner. 2026, 2030 two World Cups, plus two Women's World Cups, total investment over 500 million yuan, this is the first time a Chinese car brand has reached global cooperation with a European top football national team.
Choosing Portugal, what did Changan see? The 2026 US-Canada-Mexico World Cup is the 41-year-old Ronaldo's 6th, and also last World Cup journey. Ronaldo's Instagram followers exceed 660 million, global coverage over 1 billion fans. The distribution of Portugal team fans, just in Europe, Southeast Asia, Central and South America, Middle East Africa, highly overlaps with Changan's core going global markets. This is not generalized brand exposure, but a placement precise to user portraits.
As a new central state-owned enterprise, Changan has goals to achieve. After restructuring, Changan proposed the "1445" strategy, aiming to break into the top 10 global automakers by 2030, with overseas sales rising from 637,300 units in 2025 to 1.5 million units in 2030. In the first half of 2026, Changan delivered 402,000 units overseas, up 35.1% year-on-year, with overseas business share rising to 33.6%. Changan needs to accelerate towards its target. If the World Cup bet is correct, combined with Changan New Energy's "Shangri-La Plan" cumulative investment exceeding 100 billion, and the confidence brought by core technologies like "Golden Bell" battery and solid-state batteries, it will have a good positive significance for achieving its goals.
Of course, this 500 million bet also has risks. Portugal group stage 1-1 draw Congo (DRC), 5-0 win Uzbekistan, 0-0 draw Colombia, qualify as group second, then eliminate Croatia. Round of 16, Portugal plays archrival Spain. Although ultimately defeated, Ronaldo's influence is enough to enable Changan to leverage larger global volume. However, for Changan, this account is not calculated for short-term ROI, how much position this money can make the brand occupy in global consumers' hearts, is the more important thing.
From "Detour" to "Rooting", Playing a Differentiated Chess Game
FIFA automotive official sponsorship is locked by Hyundai Kia until 2030, for many Chinese car manufacturers, this is not a big problem. GAC, Chery, Geely take a detour to "open doors", each playing a differentiated chess game.
GAC chose the "Localization" route, signing a two-year strategic partnership with Mexico's Toluca FC directly this May. Toluca FC was founded in 1917 and has won the CONCACAF Champions Cup three times. In 2025, China exported 625,200 vehicles to Mexico, which has surpassed Russia to become the top destination for Chinese car exports. GAC binding with Toluca FC equates to embedding the brand into Mexico's fervent football culture, completing the leap from "entering the market" to "taking root in the market".
Chery's approach is more subtle, not sponsoring the Spanish national team in the name of "Chery", but reviving the Spanish domestic brand EBRO born decades ago, also considered a "roundabout way to save the country". In April 2024, Chery signed an agreement with Spain's EV MOTORS under the witness of Prime Minister Sanchez, establishing a joint venture in Barcelona to restart EBRO. In 2025, EBRO became the official sponsor of the Spanish National Football Team. At this World Cup, Spain topped the group stage with 2 wins and 1 draw, eliminated Austria 3-0 in the Round of 16, and won 1-0 against Portugal in the Round of 8 to advance to the quarterfinals, with zero goals conceded in six games so far. EBRO's brand logo continues to appear before global fans with every victory of the Spanish team.
Some might wonder why Chery uses a hidden approach to back the team? In fact, gaining local recognition for a brand going global is a matter to be planned for the long term, selling cars before this is equally important. For Chery, whether the logo on the steering wheel is EBRO or Chery makes no difference to Chery's financial reports. For Spanish consumers, this is "a local brand supporting a local team". Chery hiding behind the curtain easily gains emotional recognition from local consumers, so why not? Chery's overseas performance has always been "capable", and after this World Cup, Chery's overseas "gains" may continue to amplify with the team's performance. The approach of "technology empowerment + local brand" can instead yield real profits.
Geely chose another path: "Focusing back" on the domestic market. Geely Galaxy became a partner for the CCTV World Cup broadcast, exclusively naming CCTV-5's "The Football Grand Banquet", simultaneously launching "Football Carnival Season" distributing car purchase vouchers daily. The Galaxy brand's main battlefield is domestic; borrowing this World Cup super IP to complete a leap in brand popularity is the most cost-effective choice. Meanwhile, Geely's Mexico subsidiary offered free airport pick-ups for car owners watching matches during the World Cup, equivalent to building the brand domestically and providing service overseas, running both lines in parallel.
Three roads, three judgments, but pointing to the same conclusion: Chinese car manufacturers' going global path is no longer as simple and straightforward as before, independent brands have begun to seek "smarter" paths.
Conclusion
BYD proves the value of long-termism through multiple lines; Changan declares the determination of a new central enterprise going global with a 500 million bet; GAC, Chery, and Geely demonstrate the diverse possibilities of Made in China through differentiated paths. And what is more comforting than these is that Chinese automakers are no longer obsessed with "selling products" or finding "ad spots". Building brands and setting up ecosystems on global stages like the World Cup means that Chinese independent brands now have the major premise for victory in their "extra time" on the world arena.
