Changan has partnered with Portugal's football team, offering one "free" Deepal in China for every goal scored. Source: Changan Understand China EV’s Market Real-time notifications when critical EV data is released All important data in one place 2,000,000+ data points Become a member Changan has launched a World Cup campaign in China, promising to give away one “free” Deepal car for every goal Portugal’s national team scores. The automaker became Team Portugal’s “official global partner” after striking a strategic deal in May. The devil’s in the details, and “free” is in quotation marks. Instead of outright ownership, the winners will instead gain usage rights to a Deepal vehicle for one year, equivalent to a free lease. Participants will also need to test-drive a Deepal car at a Chinese dealer to sign up. According to Deepal, one car will be added to the prize pool for every goal Portugal scores. Goals from penalty shoot-outs, a tie-breaking round after a tied match, do not count, as the number of goals is often higher than those in normal matches. Team Portugal’s GM (João Medeiros Cardoso, Left) posing with Changan’s VP (Mi Mengdong, Right). Changan joins a growing number of Chinese automakers, hoping to expand their reach by leveraging European football. Chery previously signed Polish football star and FC Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski in mid-May, making him the automaker’s “global brand ambassador”. BYD is also active in this area, replacing Nissan as Manchester City’s official automotive partner in the UK. The Chinese auto giant also sponsored the 2024 UEFA European Championship. China’s auto firms are marking their presence on the pitch. However, its national football team is nowhere to be seen. Despite 13 attempts to qualify for the World Cup, China succeeded only once, in 2002. The team was eliminated in the group stage and failed to score a single goal. More on Deepal Established in 2018, Deepal is one of Changan’s new-energy (NEV) sub-brands. Positioned in the middle of Changan’s NEV ecosystem, it bridges Nevo, which focuses on entry-level models, and Avatr, which targets the upmarket segment. Deepal is sharing its NEV platform with the Changan Mazda joint-venture (JV). The Mazda 6e and CX-6e are closely related to Deepal’s SL03 and S07, respectively. Furthermore, the sub-brand’s operations have also been integrated with Avatr, which faced a significant 2026 Q1 sales slump of over 40%. Deepal’s domestic deliveries, June 2025 to May 2026. Source: China EV DataTracker Deepal is a strong player in China’s automaker scene. China EV DataTracker reported 23,589 domestic deliveries in May 2026. This makes it China’s 25th best-selling brand, performing better than Nio but trailing behind its Changan sibling, Nevo. Deepal’s announcement. Source: Deepal Source: Changan, WeChat – Deepal