Renault Sport Formula One Team and Alibaba’s Tmall will partner for the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship in a branding partnership for this year’s FIA Formula 1 World Championship. The iconic Tmall Cat will be displayed prominently on the Renault R.S. 18 F1 challenger from April’s Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai. Further details of the partnership are due to be released in March.
“We are excited to partner with the Renault Sport Formula One Team to make our activity around the Chinese Grand Prix a success and to be working closely together to bring one-of-a-kind experiences with the Renault Sport Formula One Team to our customers.”
– Wei Yu, General Manager of Tmall Auto
The tie-up with Alibaba owned Tmall is part of a specific focus on the China market for Groupe Renault in its new mid-term strategic plan called “the top priority” for the company. Tmall will pursue further collaboration with Renault and its strategic partners, Nissan and Mitsubishi.
“One of the key objectives of returning to Formula 1 was to leverage its global platform for Groupe Renault. China has been identified as a market of strategic importance and partnering with high-profile companies like Alibaba’s Tmall will provide opportunities to significantly improve Renault brand awareness and opinion in China, with a strong presence over the Chinese Grand Prix in April, but also throughout the year.”
– Cyril Abiteboul, managing director of Renault Sport Racing
A global sporting event such as the FIA Formula 1 World Championship is a great opportunity to boost awareness of the Tmall platform among consumers worldwide according to Lu Huan, marketing director of Tmall’s automotive division. Renault will release official images of the new car on Wednesday this week.
