THE Shenzhen-based Internet giant, Tencent, has recently joined hands with MINI to launch 13 theme cars printed with original art patterns at OCT Bay in Shenzhen on Saturday.

Users of QQ, Tencent’s earliest online instant communication tool, can win the right to use the theme cars by engaging in activities organized by Tencent, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported.

Qzone, Tencent’s derivative online blog space, is also launching blog themes featuring images of cars and a series of interactive online technologies to promote the theme cars. It is the first time that an Internet company has launched cars in China.

Li Dan, one of the marketing managers with Tencent, said that both Qzone and MINI are popular brands and icons among young people and represent their bold and creative attitudes toward life.

With the most classic MINI car models, the 13 theme cars were designed with elements of original art in order to present a sense of industrialism and postmodernism. According to Li, the cars were especially designed for MINI lovers and for all the QQ users who favor individualism.

It is not the first time that Tencent has worked with brands from other industries. QQ also worked with Casio, Nike and some other brands popular among young people to co-produce theme products. Some industrial insiders even reasoned that a lot of young brands wanted to work with Tencent and use jointly produced products to promote their own brands.

The latest data shows that QQ possesses nearly 861 million active monthly users and Qzone has 632 million active monthly users. In particular, over 60 percent of Qzone users are young people born in the 1990s.

(Zhang Qian)