Partnering with Portugal National Team, Changan Automobile Empowers Brand Globalization to New Heights with Football IP

With the World Cup hype approaching, a powerful alliance crossing mountains and seas has written a new footnote in China's automotive globalization journey. Late at night on May 22 Beijing Time, Changan Automobile officially formed a global strategic partnership with the Portugal Football Association, becoming the global official partner of the Portugal National Team. This peak meeting between a Chinese car company and a top European football club is not only a cross-border resonance between sports IPs and car brands, but also a firm practice of Changan Automobile anchoring the globalization track, deeply cultivating the overseas market, and pushing China's smart manufacturing to sail the world.

With the global automotive industry competition entering a deep-water zone, the globalization of Chinese car companies has upgraded from simple product trade to a deep output of brand value and cultural concepts. As a new central enterprise card for China's automotive industry, Changan Automobile firmly promotes global layout with the strategic vision of "No Overseas, No Changan". This partnership with the Portugal National Team is precisely the key move to leverage top resources, break cognitive barriers, and achieve the leap from "product going overseas" to "value going overseas", demonstrating the hard power and grand vision of China's smart manufacturing going to the world.

In the second half of globalization competition, simple product output has become difficult to break the inherent cognition of overseas markets towards Chinese brands. Changan Automobile targets football, this global common cultural language, choosing strategic cooperation with the European football powerhouse Portugal National Team, which can be described as a differentiated move to precisely break the situation. The Portugal National Team boasts world-class stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, possessing a massive fan base in Europe, Latin America, and globally. Its top football IP's global influence and world-class value endorsement build a bridge for Changan Automobile to efficiently reach global audiences.

On the eve of the 2026 World Cup, Changan Automobile became the first Chinese car company to partner with a top European football national team. This move stepped out of traditional marketing dimensions, extending brand reach deeply into European core markets and radiation areas. At the event site, both parties jointly released the branded film "Sounds like Changan", successfully completing the first overseas delivery of the Deep Blue S05 plug-in hybrid model (PHEV) in Europe. Meanwhile, Changan Automobile also officially started the long-distance European testing of relevant PHEV models, comprehensively testing the vehicle's long range, fast charging, low energy consumption, and durability. With this opportunity, Changan Automobile not only achieved a leap in brand exposure but also used sportsmanship as a bond to break stereotypes of Chinese car brands in the overseas market, allowing global users to have a new understanding of Changan Automobile's brand value amidst the passion and struggle of football, paving the way for subsequent market deepening.

As a new central enterprise, Changan Automobile actively responds to the national call for high-level opening up. Its globalization journey has long surpassed the primary stage of "selling cars overseas", but upgraded to a deep value fusion of "integrating locally, resonating in value". The spirit of team collaboration and never giving up contained in football highly matches Changan Automobile's persistent pursuit in technology R&D and quality polishing. Both sides joined hands to realize a peak meeting between a first-class enterprise and a first-class team.

This spiritual resonance is a vivid practice of Changan Automobile from "going out" to "going in". Relying on the advantages of the new central enterprise platform, Changan efficiently integrates global resources, with Blue Whale Supercharging Hybrid and Tianzhu Intelligent System as core technical support, creating a global product matrix combining quality and strength. In 2025, Changan's overseas sales reached 637,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 18.85%, accounting for over 20% of total sales; overseas deliveries in April 2026 surged by 69.9% year-on-year, leading the industry in growth rate. Behind the bright results lies the responsibility and commitment of Changan as a central enterprise. Changan Automobile can not only export quality products but also convey the spiritual power of Chinese brands moving upwards and towards newness, becoming a core card for China's automotive industry going global.

For Changan Automobile, signing the Portugal National Team is just an important part of its grand global landscape. Guided by the "Broad As the Sea" Plan 2.0, Changan adheres to the four major principles of "Long-term, Localization, Systematic, ESG Construction Integration", building a "152" global layout, promoting the transformation of globalization from a product trade-dominated model to a comprehensive model covering manufacturing, trade, investment, service, and ESG construction.

In terms of market and capacity layout, Changan's global sales network covers 118 countries and regions, with 1,124 overseas sales outlets; 22 overseas manufacturing bases have been built, with the Thailand Rayong New Energy Factory and Brazil Factory successively putting into production, adapting to local needs locally and practicing the concept of "In the Local, For the Local". At the product level, 41 car models have been launched cumulatively, covering fuel, pure electric, and plug-in hybrid categories. Deep Blue S05 and other models have been exported to Europe in batches, gaining widespread recognition from the international market.

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Looking towards the future, Changan's goal is clear and firm: By 2030, overseas sales will double to 1.5 million units, striving for 1.8 million units, aiming to rank among the global automotive brand TOP10, and enter the regional world brand TOP5 in the Europe and Asia market. From the green field to the global track, Changan Automobile, with an open posture, central enterprise responsibility, and pragmatic courage, continues to broaden the boundaries of Chinese cars going overseas, letting the figure of China's smart manufacturing gallop globally, and letting the strength of Chinese cars resonate across the world. (End)