[September 27, 2024, Beijing] As fresh autumn breezes fill the air, on September 26th, the 2024 China Open has kicked off at the National Tennis Center in Beijing. As the presenting sponsor of the China Open, Beijing Benz Automotive Co., Ltd. (BBAC) continues its years-long legacy of partnership with the prestigious event, bringing tens of thousands of tennis fans and car enthusiasts an unrivaled display of athletic skill and deeply integrating the excitement of tennis with the thrill of automotive excellence.

Zhang Jianyong, Party Secretary and Chairman of BAIC Group and Chairman of BBAC, attended the opening ceremony of the 2024 China Open and delivered a speech. “Throughout the years of our partnership with the China Open, the tournament has continually risen in status, evolving from a pure sports platform into an international cultural exchange event,” he said. “In collaboration with the China Open, seeking to realize a remarkable sports dream, BBAC has showcased the exceptional strength of China’s luxury automobile manufacturing, significantly contributing to the high-quality development of the capital's economy and positioning China's automotive industry on the global stage.”

“BBAC and the China Open have been working hand in hand for 15 seasons, representing an admirable model of a strong cross-disciplinary alliance,” said Jörg Bartels, President & CEO of BBAC. “At BBAC, we are deeply committed to our 'Made in China, for China' philosophy, prioritizing quality and precision in every vehicle we produce. In the same spirit, we are proud to partner with the China Open to elevate the spectator experience. By bringing our world-class vehicles closer to both car enthusiasts and tennis fans, we aim to showcase the unique allure of Mercedes-Benz, making the event not only a celebration of sport but also of innovation and craftsmanship tailored to the Chinese market.”

“While pursuing its own high-quality development, BBAC has always remembered its corporate social responsibility and has actively promoted the development of sports in China,” said Zhang Zhengye, Party Secretary and Senior Executive Vice President of BBAC. “This year, BBAC and the China Open cooperate once again, not only further deepening their cooperation, but also demonstrating the vigorous development of both the automotive industry and the sports world in China.”

As the only comprehensive male and female tennis tournament in Asia named after a country, featuring the highest level of skill, the largest number of participants, and the widest influence of any tennis tournament in the region, this year’s China Open will see the participation of many world-famous tennis stars. They include Chinese women’s tennis star Zheng Qinwen, who set a record by winning the gold medal in women’s singles in Paris, along with temporary partners Wang Xinyu and Zhang Zhizhen, who won the silver medal in mixed doubles in Paris. They will be joined by two-time Australian Open champion and 2024 US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, and super WTA stars such as Coco Gauff. In men’s tennis, the China Open will feature current World No. 1 and 2024 US Open champion Jannik Sinner, winner of this year’s French Open and Wimbledon Championships Carlos Alcaraz, last year’s China Open runner-up and former World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev. As this impressive roster of star athletes comes together in Beijing, spectators are sure to witness an exhilarating display of competition at the highest levels of skill and achievement.

Highlighting luxury fuel and electric models, BBAC creates a new trend of sustainable premium mobility

Having witnessed the China Open’s achievements, BBAC not only provides a premium and comfortable mobility experience for the event with its excellent products, but also fully displays the luxury genes carried in every Mercedes-Benz product alongside the great achievements BBAC has made in China.

This year, BBAC will present a number of models with conventional drives and electric models at its China Open Brand Center Booth. Among them, EQE SUV and EQB will fully demonstrate the brilliant detail design, unique upgrade performance exclusive to China, humanized and convenient intelligent cockpit experience, and rich and practical intelligent driving configuration. At the same time, three fuel models, the E-Class L, GLC L and GLB models, will also show outstanding design, luxury and comfort, intelligence, and safety. Outside the venue, the E-Class L, GLC L, EQE SUV and EQE models will be available and ready to provide a premium event mobility service for VIPs and players from around the world.

BBAC is constantly accelerating its electric transformation, upgrading its product matrix, and leading the new trend of green travel, setting the stage for the Mercedes-Benz “entry luxury” and “core luxury” models based on the all-new Mercedes Modular Architecture (MMA) and MB.EA platforms.

As a cross-disciplinary cooperation model, BBAC leads the agile transformation of automotive manufacturing

BBAC has sponsored the China Open for 15 consecutive seasons, not only highlighting its firm support for sports development in China and strong sense of social responsibility, but also enables it to serve as a model of mutually beneficial cross-disciplinary cooperation. Since its inception in 2004, the China Open has constantly made new breakthroughs, rapidly developing from a regional tennis competition to become one of the world’s top tennis events and an indispensable part of the global tennis world.

Over the many years it has sponsored the China Open, BBAC has constantly improved its own comprehensive strength, ushering in a cumulative output of vehicles and engines both exceeding 5 million units this year, and accelerating the pace of its transformation towards “electrification, digitalization and low carbonization”. BBAC has been applying AI in numerous manufacturing scenarios, and is working towards a full Digital Twin of the production process for the ramp-up of the all-new Mercedes-Benz carlines, simulating production lines, machines and supply routes for new models in advance. Research carried out recently by BBAC in conjunction with Tsinghua University on carbon management in logistics and transportation has achieved new results, with the two sides developing a carbon emission accounting system for the logistics and transportation of parts. BBAC is also working with suppliers on a forward-looking zero-carbon technology laboratory. Following its official 2024 commissioning, the laboratory will provide facilities and technical demonstrations for the green and low-carbon transformation of the automotive industry.

With its achievements in intelligent manufacturing and sustainable manufacturing, BBAC has been awarded honors such as “Factory of the Year”, “Green Plant Model”, “Benchmark Enterprise of Intelligent Manufacturing in Beijing”, “Sino-German Intelligent Manufacturing Cooperation Demonstration Pilot Project” and “Quality Management Award of the People's Government of Beijing Municipality” in recent years.

In the process of constantly improving its comprehensive strength in line with the core values of “Customer Focus, Responsibility, Integrity, Innovativeness, and Agility”, BBAC places a high priority on empowering its talent team, consistently working to maximize employees’ potential while consolidating the company’s core competitive advantages to ensure its continued sustainable high-quality development.

With the opening of the 2024 China Open, the lights of the “Three-pointed Star” and the stars of the tennis world complement each other, illuminating the excitement of competition on the tennis court. In the future, BBAC will continue to provide an enterprising spirit infused with the vitality of a new era, and injecting strong impetus into the development of the high-end automobile manufacturing industry and the vigorous advance of sports in China.