Nio‘s family-oriented sub-brand Onvo announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with Shanghai Shenhua Football Club, as part of its efforts to raise brand awareness.
Onvo said on Weibo that Shanghai Shenhua FC is “one of the founding teams of China’s professional league,” with over 30 years of history.
The Shanghai-based EV maker will provide players, coaches, and staff from the club with Onvo L90 vehicles during the 2026 Chinese Super League season.
Additionally, the club will offer Onvo owners “exclusive benefits, including raffles for Shenhua home match tickets, access to club fan days, and ball boy experiences.”
Sports Automotive Partnerships
Automakers frequently partner with sports teams as part of their efforts to expand the brand’s presence, both domestically and overseas.
In China, the Detroit automaker Ford was the first to sponsor the Chinese Super League — between 2014 and 2017 — through its joint venture with Changan.
However, these partnerships are more common overseas, with recent examples including the Chinese manufacturers BYD and Chery.
Last year, the Israeli Professional Football Leagues (IPFL) approved a sponsorship deal with crossover SUV brands Jaecoo and Omoda.
In 2025, BYD signed a three-year deal with Inter Milan, taking over from Volvo as the club’s official automotive partner.
It was also the official sponsor of the Euro 2024 tournament, replacing Volkswagen.
Late last year, Geely-backed Polestar became the official mobility partner of Germany’s Borussia Dortmund for the 2025/26 season.
According to Dortmund, the partnership includes the presence of Polestar’s logo on jerseys across all competitions, pre-match apparel, and advertising channels in and around the stadium.
Disappointing Sales
Last month, Onvo delivered 9,154 vehicles, of which 4,979 were expected to be L60s and 4,175 were L90s — the lowest monthly figures since launch.
These figures were disappointing, despite the company’s efforts to boost demand by releasing several limited editions for both models.
Earlier, the L90 had shown strong demand due to a lower-than-expected price, with over 30,000 units delivered in the first three months following its August debut.
This made Onvo lead the group’s deliveries between August and October.
According to the company’s founder and CEO William Li, the Onvo L90 “recorded 43,439 cumulative deliveries within five months of launch.”
The model was the best-selling of the Nio Group last year.
Its record monthly deliveries — 11,722 in October — are, however, just half of the new Nio ES8’s December deliveries, which reached 22,258 units.
