BMW cooperating with Shanghai eSports club

A Shanghai-based eSports club is to work with BMW as the German-based car giant eyes the potential of eSports in China and around the world.

BMW has announced cooperation with five eSports clubs — Shanghai’s FPX or FunPlus Phoenix, Cloud 9 (US), Fnatic (UK), G2 Esports (Germany) and T1 (South Korea) — with the aim of promoting the long-term development of the global eSports industry.

“Our eSports involvement is an important milestone providing, for the first time, a new intersectionality with a dynamic and fast-growing community,” said Jens Thiemer, senior vice president customer and brand. “We consider eSports a promising, growing addition to our marketing activities.”

The number of Chinese eSports users reached 350 million in 2019, an increase of 10.6 percent year on year.

Brands such as JD, Suning, KFC, Li Ning and Nike have also invested in or sponsored eSports.

Shanghai aims establish itself as a global eSports hub and has built eSports halls and held top-level events.

“The BMW partnership will fuel innovation and the pursuit of high performance in this new era.” FPX CEO Chun Li said.

FPX was founded by gaming company FunPlus in 2017. It has attracted professional players and attended top eSports events, winning the 2019 League of Legends (LPL) Global Finals.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, FPX donated 2 million yuan and medical and protective products to Wuhan.The members of the team used their influence to encourage young people to “wash hands and wear masks.”