China’s motorcycle industry has come a long way since its inception, evolving from a modest beginning to a sector that now competes on the global stage. Despite facing challenges such as urban motorcycle bans and stringent emissions regulations, Chinese manufacturers have continued to push boundaries, investing heavily in research and development to produce motorcycles that meet both domestic and international standards. Here are the top 10 motorcycle brands that have made a name for themselves in China:
1. Haojue豪爵
According to the 2019 China Motorcycle Industry Report, Grand River Group, which produces Haojue motorcycles, has a total sales volume of 1.9658 million vehicles, making it the best-selling motorcycle company of the year, and Haojue has also become one of the best-selling domestic motorcycle brands. Haojue has more than a dozen model series and several derived sub-brands. Its domestic sales outlets are located in almost all large, medium and small cities and major towns. Selected as “Asia’s 500 Most Valuable Brands”.
2. Loncin隆鑫
According to relevant data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers in 2019, Loncin’s annual sales volume reached 1.1381 million vehicles, accounting for 6.64% of the market share, second only to Grand River’s 11.47%, becoming one of the best-selling and most popular domestic motorcycle brands. Loncin Motorcycle is an older enterprise among its own brands, and it is also the first enterprise in the industry to pass the motorcycle national safety technology inspection-free certification. Its engine sales also rank among the top two in the industry. So far, Loncin has won the title of “Top 500 Chinese Enterprises” for 18 consecutive years.
3. Zongshen宗申
In 2019, the sales volume reached 1.04 million, accounting for 6.05% of the market share. Zongshen is an old motorcycle brand in China and one of the largest motorcycle manufacturers in the world. The first domestic international motorcycle team owned by Zongshen has won awards in international professional competitions. As one of the most popular domestic motorcycles among consumers, Zongshen has been selected as one of the top 500 large enterprise groups in the country announced by the National Bureau of Statistics for several consecutive years, and has been continuously selected as one of the “Top 500 Chinese Enterprises” jointly selected by the China Entrepreneur Association and the China Enterprise Confederation. “Top 500 Made in China” and “Top 500 Chinese Machinery”.
4. Yinxiang银翔
The sales volume in 2019 is about 960,000, accounting for 5.62% of the market share. Yinxiang, a domestic motorcycle brand founded in 1997, is a large-scale science, industry and trade enterprise group integrating research, development, manufacturing and sales of motorcycles and engines. Chinese consumers are assured of products. At present, Yinxiang has developed from a single motorcycle enterprise into a large-scale comprehensive group integrating industrial manufacturing, product research and development, real estate development, etc., and has been rated as “National High-tech Enterprise” and “China Famous Brand”.
5. Lifan力帆
Lifan, established in 1992, is a large-scale private enterprise integrating scientific research and development, automobile/motorcycle and engine production/sales (including export), as well as investment and finance. In 2016, Lifan was awarded the “Outstanding Contribution Award” for Top Ten Quality Made in China, “China’s Export Quality and Safety Demonstration Enterprise”, “Top 100 Innovative Enterprises in Mainland China”; in 2014-2015, it was rated as “Top 500 Chinese Enterprises”.
6. Wuyang Honda五羊本田
Domestically produced motorcycles rank in the top ten, with a sales volume of 890,000 in 2019, accounting for 5.22% of the market share. Wuyang Honda has three series of riding style, pedal and curved beam, with more than 60 models and thousands of small varieties of high-quality fuel motorcycles. These products are popular in the market for their high quality, novel style, excellent acceleration performance, environmental protection and energy saving. Wuyang Honda has successively won honors such as “Top 10 Motorcycle Enterprises in China”, “Top 100 Most Competitive Brands in China”, “National Machinery Industry Civilized Unit”, and “Guangdong Model Grassroots Party Organization”.
7. Dayang大阳
Luoyang North Group, which produces Dayang motorcycles, has a total sales volume of more than 742,400 vehicles in 2019, accounting for about 4.33% of the market share. Luoyang North Group is a joint venture, one of the largest Sino-foreign joint ventures in Henan Province, but Dayang Motorcycle is not a joint venture brand, but a purely domestic motorcycle brand. As one of the top ten domestically produced motorcycles, Dayang Motorcycles sells well in more than 40 countries and regions at home and abroad.
8. Dayun大运
In 2019, Dayun Motorcycle exported 330,000 units, ranking sixth in the country, while its sales volume just entered the top ten, accounting for 3.44% of the market share. Dayun has 6 domestic advanced suspension motorcycle production lines, 4 finished vehicle packaging lines, 4 engine production lines, 6 spraying lines, laser molding machines, chassis dynamometers, exhaust gas analyzers and other world-class motorcycles There are more than 200 kinds of professional equipment for manufacturing, research and development and testing; it has been rated as “China’s famous brand”, “China’s top ten industry famous brands” and so on.
9. Qianjiang钱江
In 2005, the domestic motorcycle brand Qianjiang wholly acquired the century-old Italian motorcycle company BENELLI, creating a precedent for cross-border mergers and acquisitions of domestic motorcycle companies. Its products cover a full range of motorcycles from 110cc ordinary scooters to 1130cc high-end large-displacement racing cars, and are exported to 130 countries and regions. Since its establishment in 1985, Qianjiang has become one of the companies in the industry that can professionally manufacture high-end large-displacement motorcycles. Now under the strategic guidance of Geely Group, it is also focusing on the research and development and manufacturing of key parts for new energy vehicles.
10. Jialing嘉陵
Chongqing Jialing was formerly known as the state-owned Jialing Machinery Factory, which was founded in 1875; since 1981, it has carried out technical cooperation with Japan’s Honda Corporation, and is the earliest motorcycle company in China to carry out international cooperation; in 1995, it was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. At present, Jialing has formed a complete pedigree of small and medium-displacement motorcycle products, and has special vehicle products represented by large-displacement motorcycles, snowmobiles, and light all-terrain vehicles; it has been rated as “China’s 500 Most Valuable Brands” for eight times “, selected as one of the “Top 500 Most Valuable Enterprises in China” for 6 times.
These brands are shaping the future of the Chinese motorcycle industry, demonstrating that China is more than capable of producing high-quality, competitive motorcycles that can stand toe-to-toe with international brands. As the market continues to evolve, these companies will undoubtedly play a pivotal role in driving innovation and setting new standards in the industry.
