Liverpool And Man United Legends At A BYD Owners Meet? Yep, That Happened

Your average car owners meet might involve a convoy, some food, plenty of photos and, if you're lucky, a decent goodie bag. BYD Sime Motors apparently had something rather different in mind.

How about Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen and Ryan Giggs for starters? Throw Alessandro Del Piero, Dida and Javier Saviola into the mix, and that's quite the football lineup to find yourself around at an automotive owners gathering.

All six were among the football stars involved in the AllStar Legends experience in Kuala Lumpur, around which BYD Sime Motors organised an exclusive two-day experience for its Malaysian owners and their families. More than 800 attendees took part, although that figure also included BYD staff, partners and management.

And before anyone gets the wrong idea from our headline, Liverpool FC and Manchester United themselves weren't announced as participants. We're talking about former players famously associated with the two clubs, including former Liverpool captain Gerrard and Man United legend Giggs.

Definitely Not Your Typical Owners Meet

There was considerably more to the weekend than putting a few famous footballers on stage for photos. The visiting legends toured Kuala Lumpur from Oct 2 before making appearances at BYD Glenmarie and BYD TREC Kuala Lumpur, travelling in BYD vehicles along the way.

Owners and their families also got meet-and-greet opportunities, a Legends Talk and Gala Dinner, culminating in the AllStar Legends match.

For some of the younger attendees, things got even better. Selected children from BYD-owning families walked onto the pitch alongside the football stars as official player mascots before kick-off.

One was Arjuna, whose parent owns a BYD SEALION 7. BYD's accompanying photos show him meeting the legends and later posing with a football signed by them.

Not bad for a weekend with the family.

BYD Was The Official Automotive Partner

There's an important distinction here. The wider AllStar Legends event wasn't simply a BYD-organised football event. BYD Sime Motors served as its Official Automotive Partner, while the event was organised by AllStar Sports in collaboration with World Football Legends.

BYD then used the occasion to create a wider experience around its Malaysian owner community. And yes, the football side of this thing was properly stacked.

There's A Bigger BYD Strategy Behind It

Look beyond the famous footballers and there's an interesting automotive angle here too. Buying the car is one thing. Keeping owners engaged with the brand after they've driven out of the showroom is another. That's clearly part of what BYD Sime Motors wants from experiences like this.

Jeffrey Gan, Managing Director of Sime Motors, Southeast Asia, said the company sees ownership as extending beyond the vehicle itself, with AllStar Legends intended to create memorable experiences and strengthen its relationship with its growing owner community.

In other words, this wasn't about introducing another BYD model.

It was about giving people who already bought one something else to associate with owning it.

Were There Really 800 BYD Owners?

Not quite, and that's an important distinction. BYD Sime Motors describes the occasion as Malaysia's largest BYD owners gathering, but that's the company's description rather than an independently established record.

Likewise, the 800-plus figure doesn't mean more than 800 BYD owners attended. BYD's announcement says the total comprised owners as well as staff, partners and management.

Still, the official images show a sizeable turnout, including a large owners-and-families group photo, crowds, autograph sessions, match action and the Gala Dinner.

So, Football Legends At A BYD Owners Meet?

Yep. Gerrard. Owen. Giggs. Del Piero. Dida. Saviola. There are certainly more conventional ways for a car company to engage with its existing customers.

But if BYD Sime Motors wanted to give owners something more memorable than another conventional gathering, building an owners weekend around an event featuring names associated with Liverpool, Manchester United, Juventus, AC Milan, Barcelona and Real Madrid certainly did the job.