Pokal

Leapmotor has been a key partner of the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) since the Final4 last May. At the Pokal Grand Opening, the electric car manufacturer is acting as the title partner and, in addition, as the presenting partner of the German-Chinese Economic Forum initiated by the TTBL. In this interview, Nico Schmidt, Head of Communications at Leapmotor Germany, talks about the partnership’s successes to date and its future potential with the TTBL.

Nico Schmidt, Leapmotor is involved in the Cup Grand Opening in Nuremberg both as the title sponsor of the competition and as the presenting partner of the German-Chinese Economic Forum. What led to this combined package?

Ultimately, the great success of the launch of our partnership at the TTBL Final 4 in Frankfurt was the deciding factor in expanding our involvement. In the TTBL, we have a partner with whom we work very trustingly and constructively. And when we then heard about the idea of the German-Chinese Economic Forum, it was immediately clear to us that we wanted to be part of it. The theme is, after all, tailor-made for us as a Chinese brand launching in Germany. Leapmotor is, so to speak, a living example of the relations between Germany and China.

At the start of the year, Leapmotor and Tischtennis-Deutschland had agreed on specific partnerships for the TT Finals, the TTBL Final4 and the mini-championships. What was the deciding factor in extending Leapmotor’s commitment?

We announced at the start of the year that we would be collaborating with the sport of table tennis in Germany. We’re doing this because table tennis builds a bridge to China like no other sport. Table tennis is a national sport in China, just as Leapmotor is a brand for the people – with affordable electric cars. Right from the start, we had great discussions with table tennis officials in Germany, who quickly showed us that together we can make a difference. For Leapmotor, but also for the sport of table tennis. Deepening this partnership as part of the Grand Opening is therefore the logical next step following the success of our first joint initiatives. In both Frankfurt and Erfurt, we’ve noticed that the table tennis community is very open and interested in the Leapmotor brand.

In what way does table tennis differ from other sports in this respect?

As I said, table tennis is a perfect fit for Leapmotor. We’re also convinced that table tennis is something of a sleeping giant in Germany. There are millions of people interested in table tennis in Germany, of whom almost 550,000 are active members of over 9,000 clubs. This gives our retailers a fantastic opportunity to showcase our brand locally. Incidentally, this is very important to us: we want to support table tennis not only at the elite level, but also across the board. Almost everyone has played table tennis at some point in their lives – this provides excellent conditions for promoting a young brand.

What highlights have emerged so far as a result of your company’s involvement in table tennis?

We’ve already made quite an impact. For example, we’ve developed a professional exhibition stand that we can tailor to our appearances at table tennis events. We received great feedback on this in both Frankfurt and Erfurt and were able to connect numerous people with our cars – over 1,000 even asked to be contacted by our dealers. In Nuremberg, we’ll also be launching a specially programmed online table tennis game, which will now round off our presence at the event. When it comes to grassroots sport, we’re particularly pleased with our kit campaign, which we’ve launched in partnership with Butterfly and our dealers. Interested clubs can request free kit sets from their Leapmotor dealer – the first dozen Leapmotor teams have already been confirmed; the shirts are currently in production. So, from this perspective too, the new season is ready to begin.

What were Leapmotor’s reasons for providing additional support to the TTBL initiative of the German-Chinese Economic Forum as a presenting partner?

As the German-Chinese Economic Forum builds a bridge between sport and business, this was naturally a perfect fit for us. We wanted to support this, and we can, of course, also make a significant contribution in terms of content. We’re delighted to be involved and hope to see many more editions of the event dedicated to this vital topic, which is becoming increasingly important.

Following Nuremberg, are further developments in Leapmotor’s partnership with the TTBL conceivable?

Our commitment to table tennis is a long-term one. We therefore have many more ideas on how we can deepen Leapmotor’s partnership with the sport. We’ll be able to talk about some of these in more detail very soon. And, of course, the TTBL is also a very important player – so we’re sure to find further areas of collaboration and look forward to the projects that lie ahead.

Nico Schmidt, thank you very much for the interview.

Florian Manzke