China’s Shineray Motors Partners Inter Milan 

Chinese automobile conglomerate Shineray Motors have clinched a deal with leading Serie A club Inter Milan.  

Under the deal, Shineray Motors have been named as the official regional partner of Nerazzurri for the ongoing 2023/24 season. 

Despite being majority owned by Chinese conglomerate Suning Holdings Group, the overall value of sponsorship investment from Chinese companies have dramatically nosedived from a peak of about US$103m (97m Euros) in 2018/19 season to a mere US$3.2m (3m Euros) earlier this year.  The plummet has been attributed to a double whammy of the Covid-19 pandemic and restrictions by the Chinese government. 

This collaboration is atypical of the current trend and will see Shineray’s SWM Motorcycles serve as the club’s official motorcycle in Europe, cementing ties between the two entities.  

Founded in 1997, Shineray Group is a leading Chinese automobile conglomerate. The brand is a parent company of the Italian motorcycle brand, SWM. The company also formed a joint venture with the Brilliance Auto Group to produce SWM-branded automobiles and motorcycles in Chongqing, China.

According to ASN data,  automobile brands have invested a total of almost US$202.5m— making it the 2^nd highest platform the category have invested in, just right behind motorsports (30.2%) the endemic fit —since Q121. However, quarterly spends have veered from US$10.9m to US$12.3m in the first three quarters of 2023, a figure below the average of slightly over US$18.1m , but our Q423 forecasts predict a recovery with investment expected to hit about US$21.6m.