It’s been wildly entertaining and inspirational watching this year’s Paris Olympics over the course of two weeks from late July to early August.
From the controversial opening ceremony to the closing ceremony that added an Olympic twist to the Mission Impossible franchise as the Games “Tom Cruised” its way from the city of light to the city of angels, and all the records, breakthroughs, shockers, photo finishes, heartwarming scenes, iconic moments and memes in between, the Olympics dominated conversations the world over during that two-week stretch.
The seesaw battle between China and the U.S. for gold supremacy went down to the wire but had the perfect ending: both countries ended up with 40 gold medals, the first time there had been a tie atop the gold medal rankings at an Olympics. Together, China and U.S. accounted for nearly a quarter of the 329 gold medals awarded.
Somehow, the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad was one of the most memorable Summer Olympics I’ve ever watched. The close and intriguing race between China and U.S. for gold supremacy certainly played a part, and for me as a Chinese American, that tie couldn’t be more perfect. Maybe it was because of the time zone difference: being in the U.S. my family and I could watch most of the games during the daytime. Maybe because it was the first normal Summer Olympics since 2016 where there were spectators. Tokyo 2020 back in the summer of 2021 was a blank because of the time zone difference and the global pandemic. Maybe it was because of the opening ceremony held on the Seine instead of a stadium. But certainly because of the sights, sounds and controversies that came out of Paris.
But I’m not here to talk about the Olympics. Though I am a sports fanatic, I’m not a sports critic.
I’m here to try to make a connection between this year’s Olympics with EV competition in China, an arena where I can safely say I am both an enthusiast and a critic.
So what did the Paris Olympics have to do with EV competition in China, you might ask?
Well, a lot.
One of the highlights of this year’s Olympics is the emergence of the next generation of athletes competing, winning and breaking records. A significant number of Chinese athletes that won gold (and Silver, Bronze, for that matter), for example, were the post-00s or Generation Z — those born after the turn of the century. They represent a generation that are expressive and outspoken. They speak their minds, they don’t hold back, they often have provocative views, and they don’t conform to traditional values or rules. This year’s Olympics was a great showcase of these characteristics. Just go watch interviews of swimmers Pan Zhanle and Zhang Yufei and female tennis player Zheng Qingwen, or viral videos of female diver Quan Hongchan, male badminton player Liu Yuchen proposing to fellow female badminton player Huang Yaqiong and table tennis players Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha taking selfies with their South Korean and North Korean competitors after winning gold. You’ll get a taste of what I mean.
These athletes also represent the next generation of Chinese consumers who are not loyal to any brand, especially the traditional established ones, are more nationalistic and love to show their pride for their country, and are much more open at accepting or trying out new ideas and products that fit their lifestyles, personalities and needs.
So, for any brand, Chinese or foreign, emerging or established, operating in any industry including EVs in China, this is what they must confront with: do you have the brand values, tech features, product attributes and agility in what you make and sell to serve the ever-changing needs of these next generation of Chinese consumers?
And in the EV sector specifically, Chinese brands collectively led by emerging brands have passed the test with high colors while foreign brands except Tesla have flunked over the last few years since the pandemic. Similar things are happening in other industries: see Starbucks, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Nike, Adidas, etc. There is obviously the element of economic headwinds in China and consumption downgrade which have affected some of the more established premium and luxury brands, but at the end of the day, it all comes down to the product and bang for the buck, and this is especially true for EVs, where Chinese brands have excelled over their foreign counterparts.
Chinese EV brands have also upped their branding and sales & marketing game as they become more global. Though there were no Chinese EV brands sponsoring this year’s Olympics and no Chinese automotive brand has ever sponsored the Olympics (at least not yet), Xiaomi piggybacked on the Paris Olympics by putting up a pop up showroom in the center of Paris for the recently launched Xiaomi SU7. The Human x Car x Home Smart Ecosystem Exclusive Exhibition gave the Parisians, the French and people from all over the world visiting Paris a glimpse of the latest and greatest from the China EV realm. Xiaomi Founder & CEO Lei Jun, who is now in charge of the EV business full time, personally visited the exhibition and posted videos of his visit as well as French art, cuisine and culture on social media.
“Bonjour!🇫🇷 It was a pleasure to meet the local team and Xiaomi Fans at our exclusive exhibition in Paris,” he wrote on X on July 30. “The enthusiasm around Xiaomi SU7 was so inspiring. When the time is right, we’ll launch the SU7 globally.”
As I write this, three days after the Olympics concluded, the man is still posting wall papers of the Xiaomi SU7 traversing through iconic landmarks in Paris on X (formerly known as Twitter), where he is the most active (maybe the only) Chinese tech/EV CEO.
Give Lei and co. a gold medal for the best guerilla marketing at the Olympics.
The next generation of Chinese Olympics athletes not only showed their competitive prowess in Paris, but also a side of their unique personality representative of the next generation of Chinese consumers. Lei Jun, Xiaomi and the Xiaomi SU7 making a splash in Paris. This is the connection between the Paris Olympics and EV competition in China.
Get used to the Olympics being associated more with Chinese EV brands as they continue their global march.
Heck, my wild guess is when the Los Angeles Olympics rolls around in July 2028, there will be at least one Chinese EV brand (originating from China, not brands liked MG, Volvo or Polestar owned by Chinese automakers) sponsoring the Games and three selling in the U.S.
