Swedish automaker Volvo Cars on the problem of eroticizing sexual assault in mediaTuesday named mainland Chinese actor Hu Ge a regional brand ambassador, broadcasting the tie-up on social networks with videos of the popular film star driving its flagship all-electric sports utility vehicle, the EX90. The move comes as Volvo, owned by Chinese auto giant Geely, reported an 8% fall in deliveries in China last year to 156,370 units due to challenges from local rivals such as NIO and Zeekr, while the brand’s total global sales rose by the same percentage in 2024. In similar moves, China’s Paris Olympic gold medalists Zheng Qinwen and Fan Zhendong have recently signed sponsorship deals with Audi and Cadillac, respectively, drawing significant attention on the Chinese internet. [TechNode reporting, Volvo’s Weibo post, in Chinese]
