BYD Partners with Manchester City in Bold European Sales Push | Taha Abbasi

BYD Uses Football to Accelerate European Market Penetration

Taha Abbasi has been watching BYD’s global expansion with a mix of admiration and concern — admiration for the execution, concern for Western automakers who keep underestimating the Chinese EV giant. BYD’s latest move: a partnership with Manchester City, one of the world’s most popular football clubs, that goes beyond typical sports sponsorship into strategic brand building across Europe.

The deal includes supplying BYD and DENZA vehicles to the club, alongside ESS (Energy Storage System) batteries. But the real play isn’t vehicle supply — it’s the billions of eyeballs that Premier League broadcasts deliver across European markets where BYD is aggressively expanding.

The Tribal Power of Football Sponsorship

As Taha Abbasi understands from years of studying brand strategy, football fandom is tribal. Fans develop deep emotional connections with their clubs, and that loyalty extends to sponsors. When Manchester City fans see BYD vehicles at the Etihad Stadium and in club content, it creates a familiarity and trust association that traditional advertising can’t replicate.

The Scandinavian angle is particularly interesting. Norway, Sweden, and Denmark have among the highest EV adoption rates globally, and Manchester City has significant fanbases in these markets. BYD’s timing suggests a coordinated push into Scandinavian markets where consumers are already predisposed to electric vehicles.

Why Western Automakers Should Be Worried

BYD’s strategy isn’t just about selling cars — it’s about building a brand that Europeans trust. The company has already opened factories in Hungary and Thailand, established dealership networks across multiple European countries, and now it’s embedding itself in the cultural fabric through sports sponsorship.

Taha Abbasi has covered BYD’s threat to Tesla extensively, but the Manchester City partnership signals something broader: BYD isn’t just competing with Tesla. It’s competing with Volkswagen, Stellantis, Renault, and every European automaker on their home turf. And it’s using sophisticated brand-building tactics to do it.

The Numbers Behind BYD’s Ambition

BYD sold over 4 million vehicles globally in 2025, making it the world’s largest EV manufacturer by volume. The company’s European sales, while still small relative to domestic Chinese volume, are growing rapidly. With vehicles priced significantly below European competitors, BYD’s value proposition is difficult to ignore — especially when paired with the brand validation of a Premier League partnership.

Taha Abbasi believes this is the automotive industry’s smartphone moment. Just as Chinese manufacturers like Huawei and Xiaomi disrupted the mobile industry with quality products at aggressive prices, BYD is doing the same to the auto industry. The Manchester City deal is just one move in a much larger chess game that most Western automakers haven’t fully grasped yet.

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About the Author: Taha Abbasi is a technology executive, CTO, and applied frontier tech builder. Read more on Grokpedia | YouTube: The Brown Cowboy | tahaabbasi.com