Chinese electric vehicle firm signs contract with Premier League side

Arsenal may be famous for their red and white soccer kit, but their green credentials are the reason for the club’s new partnership with Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD.

On Tuesday at their Emirates Stadium home in North London, the Premier League team signed a long-term marketing contract with the company based in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, a year after the first team visited China on a pre-season tour.

Sherry Li, general manager of BYD branding and PR, said Arsenal’s prestige in world soccer combined with the club’s eco-friendly policies made them the ideal corporate partner.

“The first time I heard of Arsenal, it was because the Emirates Stadium is 100 percent powered by renewable energy, and that was really attractive to BYD,” Li said.

Since starting out making rechargeable batteries in 1995, BYD has grown to become one of the world’s leading renewable energy transport companies, with a workforce of 220,000 employees and more than 30 industrial parks. Cities in 15 countries now use BYD’s electric buses and taxis.

“As a company, we have three green dreams — the acquisition of new energy, its storage, and its utilization, which we hope we can follow to get a zero emissions society,” Li said. “Arsenal shares that dream for a greener future, so they aren’t just a footballing spirit, they share our passion for the environment too.”

While the partnership will raise Arsenal’s profile in China, where the club is already hugely popular and has 4.7 million followers on Weibo alone, it will also help BYD consolidate its presence in the United Kingdom.

“We entered the UK market in 2015 and now 90 percent of London’s pure electric buses, and about 50 percent of the UK’s as a whole, are provided by us, so the UK is a very important market for us in the future,” she said. “People here care about the environment a lot so it’s a great market to promote our products. In the future, we will provide more technology and more investment for the UK market.”

The partnership is a two-way process, and Arsenal’s Chief Commercial Officer Vinai Venkatesham said the club was excited about the prospect of strengthening its position in China.

“No-one in the Premier League has ever had an electric vehicle partner before so we’re delighted to be doing this with a company as prominent as BYD,” he said. “China is a key target market for us so we’re very excited by what it might bring.”

In July 2017, Arsenal, known to their fans as the Gunners, played pre-season matches in Beijing and Shanghai. Venkatesham said the club was keen to build on the foundations of support in China, through the deal with BYD.

“Having a partnership with someone so dominant and well-connected in China will help us reach new markets,” he explained. “Through the deal, BYD has a large suite of marketing rights they can use, through competitions, promotions, events on the ground and the like. They will also have access to the Arsenal Legends (former players), so I’m sure they will be taking some of them to China ... and I’m sure we’ll be working with BYD around taking the first team back to play more games there as well.”

In addition to the prospect of exporting all things Arsenal to China, Venkatesham said it would be a good thing if one day in the future, the relationship with BYD might result in a Chinese player making the return trip — to play for Arsenal.

“(Club manager) Arsene Wenger has said before that he can’t understand how there can be so many people in China and how not one of them is playing at the top level in the Premier League, so I think it’s a matter of time before we see that,” he said. “If you look at Arsenal’s history, we’ve always had players from all around the world, so we’ll always look to get the best players that we can. I’m sure at some point we’ll be seeing players from China playing at the highest level.”