Partnering with Dongrun Public Welfare Foundation, BYD brings youth football support down to grassroots arenas

September 17, Beijing. BYD completes cooperation agreement signing with Dongrun Public Welfare Foundation. Li Yunfei, General Manager of BYD Brand and Public Relations, and Kong Dongmei, Founder and Chairman of Dongrun Public Welfare Foundation, attended along with guests and youth football student representatives. Contract signing, plaque awarding, and gift exchange were completed on site, and the two parties formally established a cooperative relationship. According to plans, BYD will support the Dongrun Cup National Youth High School Football Tournament, directing resources towards a broader campus football landscape.

In the automotive industry, sports marketing is far from new. Sponsoring top clubs and appearing at international tournaments are routine moves for many Chinese brands heading global. However, what is most noteworthy about this cooperation between BYD and Dongrun Public Welfare Foundation is not another football label, but the flow of resources: county-level middle schools, regular high school students, grassroots coaches, campus teams. These names rarely appear under the spotlight, yet they are exactly the foundation that Chinese football most needs to be seen.

The Dongrun Cup is not a competition belonging only to a few elites. It covers more than 20 provinces (regions, municipalities) nationwide, benefiting 352 schools, 4864 players and coaches this session, gathering 20 teams from 20 provinces for the finals. As a national 5A-level non-public foundation supervised by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Dongrun Public Welfare Foundation has long deepened its work in youth education assistance, having won the China Charity Award twice, with projects covering 31 provinces and regions nationwide, 324 counties, benefiting over 100,000 youths. Since the Dongrun Cup was launched in 2022 and officially started in 2023, it has attracted over 1000 campus teams, over 10,000 players and coaches participating, and more than 30 participating players entered the national youth team, middle school national team and U-series elite training camps. The 2nd Finals landing at Beijing Workers' Stadium gave youth competitions influence beyond traditional school matches.

Kong Dongmei expressed a sentiment at the event: Football is a global sport, youth are the future; the Dongrun Cup is not only for selecting football talent, but more about shaping character, nurturing souls, and helping children grow in the long term. In my view, this sentence points out the true value of campus football. While the pinnacle of professional football is undoubtedly dazzling, the thickness of the base determines the upper limit of a country's football ecosystem. Without enough grassroots matches, coach training, and equipment support, talent often cannot leave the mountains, and passion is hard to turn into a path of continuous growth.

The complementarity between BYD and Dongrun lies here. Dongrun has a mature county-level implementation network and public welfare project experience, while BYD can bring corporate resources, brand communication, owner volunteer systems, and overseas football resources. After the cooperation, the implementation of Dongrun Cup provincial leagues and finals will receive more support, and tournament incentive grants will continue to be used for school team construction. Equipment donations, grassroots coach public welfare training and other supporting actions are filling the most realistic shortcomings of grassroots campus football.

This is also not BYD's first move in the football field. In the past few years, BYD's football layout has presented a clear "dual-track logic": Overseas, it cooperates with giants like Manchester City, Inter Milan, PSG, and appeared at international tournaments like the European Cup and Copa America, where the "BYD Derby" once gained global fan attention; Domestically, it directs its attention to youth, especially remote areas and grassroots campuses. Since 2024, BYD has organized over 200 youth football players to go to Germany, Japan, Spain, Thailand, Italy, Brazil, Mexico, etc., to exchange with top overseas clubs, and brought children into top venues like the European Cup and World Cup. Meanwhile, BYD also organized owner volunteers to go to places like Ili, Xinjiang, and Yuanbao, Guizhou, sending equipment, courses, and companionship to children who love football. The Ili youth football team going to Japan for exchange and the Yuanbao women's football team receiving public welfare classes and material support are both extensions of this thinking.

If viewed from the coordinates of corporate public welfare, BYD established its charity foundation as early as 2010, deeply cultivating fields such as education support, poverty alleviation, and disaster relief. On the 30th anniversary, BYD established a 3 billion yuan education charity fund, which has already covered 127 universities nationwide, inspiring over 6,000 students. This partnership with Dongrun can be seen as a systematic downscaling in youth football public welfare: not only supporting a few talented players, not only pursuing brand exposure on international stages, but balancing elite promotion and campus popularization, injecting corporate power into the daily life of grassroots football.

Li Yunfei said on site that enterprises cannot play on behalf of children, but they can help them reach larger stages. This sentence is quite significant when applied to current Chinese car brands. Chinese automakers are accelerating globalization, football is a universal language; but truly substantial brands cannot only be seen on international stages, but must also be remembered in the local society. Partnering with giants overseas is brand height; deeply cultivating campuses domestically is brand warmth and also the thickness of the soil.

Of course, signing is just the beginning. Public welfare fears a one-time storm; campus football needs long-termism more. Whether the Dongrun Cup can continue to be held, whether grassroots coaches can receive stable training, whether equipment and incentives can truly reach school teams, these are more important than the ceremony itself. But at least, BYD did not just keep its eyes on the billboards of top stadiums this time, but chose to walk into county high schools and ordinary campuses. For Chinese youth football, this effort of "bringing them to the scene" might be more valuable than a lively press conference. For Chinese car brands undergoing globalization, this is also a path worth observing: using commercial capabilities to support public welfare, and using public welfare patience to feed back the brand.

On August 11, the 2026 FIA Asia Cross Country Rally (FIA Asia Cross Country Rally, AXCR) concluded the second leg competition. In the race from Prachinburi to Nakhon Sawan, drivers from the GWM Thailand EK Group team, supported and sponsored by Mamba Racing Shocks, continued to drive two GWM TANK 300 diesel racing cars to face the complex track tests. After two consecutive legs of high-intensity competition, car driver #114 Oulan ranks 14th in the overall car group standings and 5th in the T2A-D group; driver #128 Suowar ranks 22nd in the overall car group standings and 8th in the T2A-D group.

2026 AXCR was held in Thailand from August 9 to 15, starting from Pattaya and heading north, finally arriving in Phitsanulok, with a total distance of about 2000 kilometers. As one of the most representative long-distance off-road rallying events in Asia, AXCR's complex and changing competition environment is a high-intensity test for the racing car's power, chassis, suspension, and overall vehicle reliability. Information released by the official event shows that the competition this year also continues with a long-distance route setting of about 2000 kilometers.

Entering the group in the front rank in the second leg, Mamba suspension underwent continuous high-intensity tests

The second leg went from Prachinburi to Nakhon Sawan. Facing gravel, mud, potholes, and constantly changing road conditions, racing cars need not only speed but also a suspension system that maintains stable damping performance under continuous impact.

According to the race team's announced results for the second leg, Oulan completed the leg in 1 hour 11 minutes 19 seconds, ranking 7th in the car group on that day and 2nd in the T2A-D group. Suowar completed the race in 1 hour 29 minutes 52 seconds, ranking 31st in the car group and 10th in the T2A-D group on that day.

After two legs, Oulan accumulated a total time of 4 hours 40 minutes 29 seconds, currently ranking 14th in the overall car group standings and 5th in the T2A-D group; Suowar accumulated a total time of 4 hours 56 minutes 04 seconds, currently ranking 22nd in the car group and 8th in the T2A-D group.

Of particular note is Oulan entering the top ten overall in the second leg and taking second place in the T2A-D group. In an environment where T2 production-based racing cars compete with a large number of high-level modified racing cars, this performance not only reflects the comprehensive competitiveness of the GWM TANK 300 diesel racing car but also ensures that the Mamba Racing Shocks installed on the racing car continue to be tested in a true long-distance racing environment.

The team also described the second leg as a day full of challenges such as gravel and other complex road conditions. The significance of AXCR itself lies in placing vehicles in an environment far exceeding the intensity of ordinary road use, continuously testing the suspension, powertrain, and transmission systems.

Not just "withstanding impact", high-intensity off-roading also tests continuous damping capability

Off-road rallying requirements for shock absorbers differ significantly from ordinary road driving.

When racing cars pass over continuous potholes, gravel, undulations, and gullies at high speed, the suspension needs to complete compression and rebound repeatedly in a very short time. If damping control is insufficient, the vehicle is prone to continuous bouncing, affecting the effective contact between tires and the ground; meanwhile, the heat generated by long-time, high-frequency work may also affect the shock absorber's working state.

Therefore, an excellent racing-grade shock system needs to solve not just single large impacts, but more importantly, maintain relatively stable damping output under long-time, high-temperature, and high-frequency working conditions.

This time, joining the GWM Thailand EK Group team to compete in AXCR also gave Mamba Racing Shocks a highly valuable real-world testing environment.

The shock absorbers developed by Mamba for high-intensity off-road applications adopt design concepts such as large-diameter cylinder barrels and externally mounted reservoir structures, increasing oil capacity and improving heat dissipation capability during the working process to support continuous work under long-distance off-road conditions. Mamba official product data also emphasizes that their external reservoir single-tube shock absorber design can increase oil capacity and help dissipate heat during shock absorber work; some high-intensity off-road products use 65mm-level cylinder bodies and multi-stage adjustable designs.

This is also the important reason why Mamba puts products into international competitions like AXCR—laboratories can provide data, but truly continuous hundreds of kilometers of off-road tracks can further verify product performance when facing high temperatures, impacts, and complex road conditions.

Large tube diameter, nitrogen, and adjustable damping provide more possibilities for complex tracks

Aiming at long-distance off-road use scenarios, Mamba high-performance shock products use technical solutions such as large-diameter structures, nitrogen shock technology, external reservoirs, and adjustable damping to improve the shock system's ability to cope with different road conditions.

Larger cylinders and oil capacity are beneficial for improving thermal management when the shock absorber works continuously under high load; the external reservoir design further increases oil capacity and creates conditions for continuous heat dissipation. Meanwhile, adjustable damping design allows targeted adjustment of the suspension working state according to racing car weight, driving style, and different leg characteristics.

For a competition like AXCR, this adjustment capability is particularly important.

From high-speed gravel roads to muddy sections, from continuous bumps to large-drop impacts, road characteristics within the same competition may change significantly. Shock absorbers need to provide sufficient support during large impacts, as well as allow wheels to quickly follow road changes, helping the racing car maintain traction and the driver's control over the vehicle.

Currently, Mamba offers various nitrogen and adjustable shock products of different specifications for hard off-road models such as the TANK 300. Some products use structural solutions such as external reservoirs and multi-stage damping adjustment, with product positioning covering daily off-road to higher intensity usage environments.

From Chinese off-road competitions to international events, competing in AXCR for the third consecutive year

For Mamba, the 2026 competition has another layer of significance—it is the brand's third consecutive year competing in the Asian off-road rally.

From domestic off-road competitions to international long-distance rallies under complex environments in Southeast Asia, Mamba is using competitions as an important link for product development, verification, and technical accumulation by continuously participating in real combat.

Compared to simple brand exposure, the greatest value of long-distance off-road rallying lies in the cars facing unpredictable real environments every day. Mud, gravel, water wading, high temperatures, and continuous impacts will push components to higher load states, while data and driver feedback in the competition can also serve product development and subsequent upgrades in reverse.

This is also the important significance of Mamba adhering to "test vehicles with racing, test products with racing".

Especially against the background of Chinese hard off-road models continuously moving into overseas markets, the joint participation of Chinese automotive brands and Chinese auto parts brands in international competitions is forming a new technical showcase window. This time, Mamba's partnership with the GWM Thailand EK Group team to compete in AXCR is not just an event cooperation, but another real-world test of Chinese high-performance suspension products on the international off-road stage.

Two legs are just the beginning, more arduous challenges continue. As the second leg ends, the competition of 2026 AXCR has just entered a critical stage. Next, the racing cars will continue to advance towards Kamphaeng Phet and Phitsanulok, continuing to face the test of complex weather during Thailand's rainy season and different types of off-road surfaces.

For the GWM Thailand EK Group team, car #114 has already entered the top five of the T2A-D group, car #128 also remains in the top ten of the group, and both racing cars have successfully completed the first two legs, preserving the opportunity to further improve rankings for the upcoming races.

For Mamba Racing Shocks, every leg, every high-speed impact, and every kilometer of complex road conditions means new product verification. The track is never the end point of product promotion, but the starting point for verifying performance. From standing on the AXCR stage for the third consecutive year to officially supporting the GWM Thailand EK Group team to compete in international events in 2026, Mamba is bringing Chinese high-performance shock absorbers to a stricter and broader international stage through real competitions again and again.

Next, as the 2026 FIA Asia Cross Country Rally continues to deepen, Mamba Racing Shocks will also welcome more severe leg challenges together with two GWM TANK 300 racing cars, continuing to verify the performance and reliability of Chinese off-road suspension products with real stage performance.

On May 28, SAIC Group welcomed the delivery of the first 100 millionth vehicle globally, becoming the first automotive group in China to cumulatively exceed 100 million units in production and sales. Among them, SAIC-GM-Wuling contributed more than 32 million units cumulatively. On that day, SAIC-GM-Wuling delivered its global car EKSION to the first batch of users in Jakarta, Indonesia.

[SAIC Group's 100,000,003rd vehicle delivered in Jakarta, Indonesia]

"What people need, Wuling builds." SAIC-GM-Wuling precisely grasped market trends, responding to user needs with hit products. Wuling Hongguang, with its versatile characteristics of "suitable for business and home, tough and durable", has become the preferred model for many entrepreneurs and families. As resident consumption gradually upgraded to quality life, Baojun 730 broke the monopoly of joint-venture brands in the household multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) market with its flexible space and high cost-performance ratio. In 2020, during the window period of new energy transformation in China's automotive industry, the launched Hongguang MINIEV became one of the pioneers in the domestic new energy commuting vehicle field. In May this year, the first technology flagship large six-seater SUV jointly created by SAIC-GM-Wuling and Huawei Qiankun, Huajing S, officially launched, breaking the technical premium barrier of high-end intelligent driving with innovative practices of cross-border synergy.

[Equipped with Huawei Qiankun Technology Flagship Large Six-Seat Huajing S]

SAIC-GM-Wuling accelerated its layout for new energy and intelligence, and while promoting the electrification and intelligence upgrade of its products, deepened and solidified its global market layout. Currently, SAIC-GM-Wuling's cumulative overseas sales have exceeded 1.5 million units, with business covering more than 110 countries and regions globally.

The company has built a full-dimensional core competitiveness covering the intelligent manufacturing system, product matrix, and industrial ecosystem. First, the globally first intelligent island manufacturing system, using the flexible intelligent manufacturing mode of "cars finding workstations, materials finding cars", achieving full-dimensional breakthroughs in efficiency, quality, and cost; Second, a diversified product matrix adapted to the global market. Multiple models such as EKSION (Starlight 560), DARION (Starlight 730), BINGO (Wuling Bingo), BINGO S (Bingo S) have landed overseas successively, covering mainstream categories such as SUV, MPV, and sedans, meeting the differentiated travel needs of different countries and different consumer groups; Third, a unique "Moving Chains Overseas" globalization model, which, through the deep collaboration of the five chains: manufacturingchain, supply chain, sales chain, financial chain, and talent chain, broke the single path of traditional product trade going overseas and promoted the Chinese intelligent manufacturing system and standards to go global.

[Globally First Intelligent Island Manufacturing System (I²MS)]

The global car EKSION delivered in Indonesia this time is the latest footnote of the in-depth promotion of Wuling's globalization strategy. Relying on Indonesia as a core fulcrum, SAIC-GM-Wuling continues to deepen the "Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Integration" regional strategy, comprehensively covering Malaysia and Thailand with new energy products and localized supply chain systems, and gradually radiating to ASEAN countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines, forming a globalization pattern of regional synergy and linked development.

On May 28, SAIC Group welcomed the delivery of the first 100 millionth vehicle globally, becoming the first automotive group in China to cumulatively exceed 100 million units in production and sales. Among them, SAIC-GM-Wuling contributed more than 32 million units cumulatively. On that day, SAIC-GM-Wuling delivered its global car EKSION to the first batch of users in Jakarta, Indonesia.

[SAIC Group's 100,000,003rd vehicle delivered in Jakarta, Indonesia]

"What people need, Wuling builds." SAIC-GM-Wuling precisely grasped market trends, responding to user needs with hit products. Wuling Hongguang, with its versatile characteristics of "suitable for business and home, tough and durable", has become the preferred model for many entrepreneurs and families. As resident consumption gradually upgraded to quality life, Baojun 730 broke the monopoly of joint-venture brands in the household multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) market with its flexible space and high cost-performance ratio. In 2020, during the window period of new energy transformation in China's automotive industry, the launched Hongguang MINIEV became one of the pioneers in the domestic new energy commuting vehicle field. In May this year, the first technology flagship large six-seater SUV jointly created by SAIC-GM-Wuling and Huawei Qiankun, Huajing S, officially launched, breaking the technical premium barrier of high-end intelligent driving with innovative practices of cross-border synergy.

[Equipped with Huawei Qiankun Technology Flagship Large Six-Seat Huajing S]

SAIC-GM-Wuling accelerated its layout for new energy and intelligence, and while promoting the electrification and intelligence upgrade of its products, deepened and solidified its global market layout. Currently, SAIC-GM-Wuling's cumulative overseas sales have exceeded 1.5 million units, with business covering more than 110 countries and regions globally.

The company has built a full-dimensional core competitiveness covering the intelligent manufacturing system, product matrix, and industrial ecosystem. First, the globally first intelligent island manufacturing system, using the flexible intelligent manufacturing mode of "cars finding workstations, materials finding cars", achieving full-dimensional breakthroughs in efficiency, quality, and cost; Second, a diversified product matrix adapted to the global market. Multiple models such as EKSION (Starlight 560), DARION (Starlight 730), BINGO (Wuling Bingo), BINGO S (Bingo S) have landed overseas successively, covering mainstream categories such as SUV, MPV, and sedans, meeting the differentiated travel needs of different countries and different consumer groups; Third, a unique "Moving Chains Overseas" globalization model, which, through the deep collaboration of the five chains: manufacturingchain, supply chain, sales chain, financial chain, and talent chain, broke the single path of traditional product trade going overseas and promoted the Chinese intelligent manufacturing system and standards to go global.

[Globally First Intelligent Island Manufacturing System (I²MS)]

The global car EKSION delivered in Indonesia this time is the latest footnote of the in-depth promotion of Wuling's globalization strategy. Relying on Indonesia as a core fulcrum, SAIC-GM-Wuling continues to deepen the "Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Integration" regional strategy, comprehensively covering Malaysia and Thailand with new energy products and localized supply chain systems, and gradually radiating to ASEAN countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines, forming a globalization pattern of regional synergy and linked development.

On May 28, SAIC Group welcomed the delivery of the first 100 millionth vehicle globally, becoming the first automotive group in China to cumulatively exceed 100 million units in production and sales. Among them, SAIC-GM-Wuling contributed more than 32 million units cumulatively. On that day, SAIC-GM-Wuling delivered its global car EKSION to the first batch of users in Jakarta, Indonesia.

[SAIC Group's 100,000,003rd vehicle delivered in Jakarta, Indonesia]

"What people need, Wuling builds." SAIC-GM-Wuling precisely grasped market trends, responding to user needs with hit products. Wuling Hongguang, with its versatile characteristics of "suitable for business and home, tough and durable", has become the preferred model for many entrepreneurs and families. As resident consumption gradually upgraded to quality life, Baojun 730 broke the monopoly of joint-venture brands in the household multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) market with its flexible space and high cost-performance ratio. In 2020, during the window period of new energy transformation in China's automotive industry, the launched Hongguang MINIEV became one of the pioneers in the domestic new energy commuting vehicle field. In May this year, the first technology flagship large six-seater SUV jointly created by SAIC-GM-Wuling and Huawei Qiankun, Huajing S, officially launched, breaking the technical premium barrier of high-end intelligent driving with innovative practices of cross-border synergy.

[Equipped with Huawei Qiankun Technology Flagship Large Six-Seat Huajing S]

SAIC-GM-Wuling accelerated its layout for new energy and intelligence, and while promoting the electrification and intelligence upgrade of its products, deepened and solidified its global market layout. Currently, SAIC-GM-Wuling's cumulative overseas sales have exceeded 1.5 million units, with business covering more than 110 countries and regions globally.

The company has built a full-dimensional core competitiveness covering the intelligent manufacturing system, product matrix, and industrial ecosystem. First, the globally first intelligent island manufacturing system, using the flexible intelligent manufacturing mode of "cars finding workstations, materials finding cars", achieving full-dimensional breakthroughs in efficiency, quality, and cost; Second, a diversified product matrix adapted to the global market. Multiple models such as EKSION (Starlight 560), DARION (Starlight 730), BINGO (Wuling Bingo), BINGO S (Bingo S) have landed overseas successively, covering mainstream categories such as SUV, MPV, and sedans, meeting the differentiated travel needs of different countries and different consumer groups; Third, a unique "Moving Chains Overseas" globalization model, which, through the deep collaboration of the five chains: manufacturingchain, supply chain, sales chain, financial chain, and talent chain, broke the single path of traditional product trade going overseas and promoted the Chinese intelligent manufacturing system and standards to go global.

[Globally First Intelligent Island Manufacturing System (I²MS)]

The global car EKSION delivered in Indonesia this time is the latest footnote of the in-depth promotion of Wuling's globalization strategy. Relying on Indonesia as a core fulcrum, SAIC-GM-Wuling continues to deepen the "Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Integration" regional strategy, comprehensively covering Malaysia and Thailand with new energy products and localized supply chain systems, and gradually radiating to ASEAN countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines, forming a globalization pattern of regional synergy and linked development.