An Introduction
We hear much talk both good and bad about the Chinese Motorcycle industry, but much of it is ill informed, and what we see in the west can be a very distorted view, so I decided to take a look at the Chinese industry from a global perspective rather than through the eyes of the west.
We know there are many companies who use manufacturers like Loncin and QJ Motors to build their bikes and/or engines, and there are also the historic names that have been bought back to life under Chinese ownership, Like Benelli and Moto Morini.
However, on the world stage as you will see, some of the names we have grown accustomed to, are comparatively small scale players, not even making a place in the top ten. In that top ten of the real big players, you may never even have heard of some.
That includes the biggest player of all, who have a very limited exposure in the west, but are truly giants when you look at the global industry.
As with any industry, biggest doesn’t always mean best, and size can be a problem as well as an asset, but today, I am going to look inside the Chinese Motorcycle industry, at the companies who really are the big players on the global scene.
Not so long ago in China there were a group of companies known as the big 6, but Jialing and Jianshe, two of the most famous brands historically, are both are now long since bankrupt. Chongqing’s major players back in 2020 were Lifan, Loncin, Zongshen, and Shineray, but only Loncin, and Zongshen now still sit in the top ten. So you can see there have been some major changes.
The 2025 Industry Wrap-Up
China’s motorcycle industry officially wrapped up 2025 on a stellar trajectory according to industry data from the The China Chamber of Commerce for Motorcycles or CCCM.
The year was defined by stable growth in both production and sales, along with improved quality, efficiency, and a clearly optimised industrial structure.
While the domestic market recovered at a relatively slower pace, foreign trade exports boomed and remain a clear objective for most of the bigger companies.
Interestingly, the leisure and recreational large-displacement motorcycle sector continued to deliver strong growth all year, and even electric motorcycles saw a solid rebound in sales.
To begin, let me break down the exact performance data from December to see how the year came to a close. Then I will look at the performance of the various top ten companies over the whole year of 2025.
I will look at a breakdown of categories and sectors too, As well as some of the milestones that have been achieved. CF Moto became the first Chinese manufacturer to win the Moto3 Constructors’ World Championship in both 2024 and 2025, then KOVE won the WSBK-Supersport 300 World Championship in 2025. Now already in 2026, ZX Moto have stormed to their first wins in WSBK Supersport class. So we have a constant battle between the Chinese manufacturers to one-up each other which has to be good for the industry as a whole.
December Production and Sales Performance
In December, the Chinese motorcycle industry saw immense growth on almost all fronts.
Total motorcycle production for the month reached just over 2 million units, while total sales hit just over 1.95 million units.
This represents a month-on-month increase of 9.2% for production and almost 9.6% on sales, as well as a year-on-year jump of 10.5% on production and almost 11% on sales.
An incredible figure, what it also reveals is that China sold over 98% of all the motorcycles it manufactured in December, which is astonishing compared to what most of the legacy manufacturers achieve, so I guess we wont see many end of the financial year bargains around.
They certainly don’t seem to be suffering from the overstock issues that KTM, BMW, Kawasaki and others have had to deal with.
Looking specifically at petrol motorcycles, in December, production reached 1.67 million units, up over 9.6% month-on-month and over 8% year-on-year.
Petrol motorcycle sales mirrored that success too, with 1.65 million units sold, a rise of almost 12% month-on-month and over 10% year-on-year.
Although much smaller, the electric motorcycle sector of the industry also contributed to the end-of-year push. December production hit just over 339,000 units, increasing over 7% month-on-month, and that is a massive increase of 24.24% year-on-year.
While electric motorcycle sales saw a slight month-on-month drop of 1.7% to finish at 304,200 units, that still equates to another big increase of almost 15% looked at year-on-year.
Just on the domestic market, total motorcycle sales in December reached 713,200 units, growing over 5% month-on-month and up 1.2% year-on-year.
However, domestic sales of petrol motorcycles was at 417,200 units. While this showed a 10.62% increase from November, it actually represented a 6.51% decline year-on-year, but keep in mind that the domestic sales data for the previous month had been adjusted, so this figure is all skewed a little.
What it clearly shows is that their export market is growing faster than their home market, which is maybe why we see so many more companies trying to exploit those international sales.
December Category Breakdown
Diving into the specific vehicle categories for December, two-wheeled motorcycles dominated as you would expect. Production hit almost 1.8 million units and sales reached 1.7 million units. This sector grew over 10% on production and just over 9.6% for sales month-on-month. Looking at year-on-year figures, that is an increase of over 11.5% on production and just under an 11.5% increase on sales.
Large-displacement leisure and recreational motorcycles, are categorised as anything above 250cc in China. This sector showed a mixed but fascinating December. Production dropped to 53,700 units, a decline of 20.09% month-on-month and 22.84% year-on-year.
Despite this production slowdown, sales remained strong with 68,900 units sold over the month, that is a growth of 12.95% month-on-month, and 1.92% year-on-year.
So the sub 250cc category is still their biggest sector and is still the place where sales growth is strongest, but with the increased amount of high capacity models shown at EICMA from the many companies now trying to break western markets, that balance is changing.
Three-wheeled motorcycles also finished the month on a high. Production reached 250,300 units and sales hit 257,800 units. That’s a month-on-month increase of 2.41% on production and 9.21% on sales. That means year-on-year figures get a boost too, with a 3.7% increase in production and a 7.8% increase on sales.
Remember, these are average figures across the industry too, not specific to brands.
Full Year 2025 Milestones
Zooming out to see the bigger picture, during the full year from January to December, the grand totals highlight a massive expansion across the industry.
Total motorcycle production for 2025 amounted to over 22.1 million units, with total sales of over 21.96 million units. This marks a year-on-year increase of 10.7% on production and 10.3% in sales.
Compare that to Chinese motorcycle manufacturers producing 16 million motorcycles in 2020, and you get an increase in production of almost 50% in 5 years.
This gives us more astonishing conversion figures too, revealing that China sold over 99.4% of all the motorcycles they manufactured in the whole of 2025.
And remember, these aren’t hyperbole, they are industry figures direct from the Chamber of Commerce.
Of course petrol motorcycles again covered the bulk of these figures.
The industry produced 18.5 million and sold 18.46 million petrol motorcycles across the year, up 11.7% on production and 12.2% on sales year-on-year.
Whereas electric motorcycles saw smaller annual growth. Production reached 3.6 million units, up 6% on 2024 figures, and sales hit 3.5 million units. That is a much smaller increase of just 1.1%, but still an increase nevertheless.
The domestic market did see a slight contraction overall in 2025. Total domestic motorcycle sales for the year was 8.6 million units, which is a drop of 3.4% compared to the previous year. In particular, domestic sales of petrol motorcycles dropped to 5.1 million units year-on-year a 6% decrease.
Category by category for the full year, we see that 19.3 million two-wheeled motorcycles were produced, with 19.16 million of those units sold, up 10.8% on production and 10.3% on sales year-on-year.
The large-displacement sector above 250cc proved its growing popularity over the year too, with production reaching 953,700 units and sales hitting 952,300 units. That is a massive 23.3% growth in production and a 25.87% increase in sales compared to 2024.
Three-wheeled motorcycles finished off the annual data with both sales and production figures of around 2.8 million units. That is a growth of 9.7% on production and growth of 9.75% on sales year-on-year.
So from that, we can deduce is that not only is the industry growing, but that the growth of the over 250cc sector is outstripping the growth of their smaller capacity bikes by a significant amount. The over 250cc sector grew at over double the rate of their smaller capacity bikes.
It is the higher capacity bikes that are really driving the growth of the Chinese Motorcycle Industry now.
The Top 10 Sales Leaders of 2025
If we look at the companies who dominated the market from January to December 2025, you may get some surprises. Some of the names you might expect to be there aren’t. Some you will know, but many may be new to you, so I will try to give you some background where I can.
Clear leaders emerged in both the petrol and electric motorcycle sectors.
The top 10 petrol motorcycle sales by company across the year were as follows, and I apologise in advance for inevitably butchering some of the names.
Dachangjiang
Leading the pack in as dominant a position as Honda are in the rest of the world, is Dachangjiang, with total sales of 2,686,700 units, almost double the sales of the second place company, and I bet there are not many of you who have even heard of Dachangjiang.
They are the biggest Chinese motorcycle manufacturer based on production numbers, and are primarily known for producing Haojue and Suzuki branded motorcycles. They are a subsidiary of Haojue Holdings, with huge production facilities in Jiangmen on the Pearl river delta down near Hong Kong and Changzhou, just inland from Shanghai.
They have consistently topped the charts in the Chinese motorcycle industries sales figures for over 20 years now and their growth shows no signs of slowing down.
To put those figures into perspective, Triumph had global sales of 145.000 motorcycles in 2025. BMW sold 202,563, Ducati sold 50,895 and despite Kawasaki becoming the top-selling motorcycle brand in the United States for 2025, overtaking both Honda and Harley-Davidson, they sold just over 500,000 bikes globally, and that was the very first time they had crossed that barrier.
So in 2025, Haojue sold 4 times the number of motorcycles that Kawasaki did. And yes I know the number of bikes sold is only one metric, and I know I am comparing apples to oranges, but the numbers do tell a story.
Haojue are a company who have invested massively in their production facilities, and can produce and sell quality small capacity motorcycles at an astonishing rate, and I see no reason that they will not enter the Western markets at some point, but when you can already sell 99% of the motorcycles you make, investing in distribution for such diverse markets as we have might just not make sense, YET.
Loncin
The second best selling motorcycle brand from China is a more familiar name. Loncin are known for their associations with BMW, Kawasaki, Honda and others, and have now successfully launched their own branded Voge motorcycles in the west.
Their sales figures came in at 1,578,300 motorcycles for 2025. So only three times more bikes than Kawasaki, and much of their real income still comes from manufacturing engines for other companies.
Zongshen
In third place we get Zongshen who sold 1,139,200 units. Another company known for its engine manufacturing as much as the bikes, Zongshen have a joint venture with Piaggio but are now also following Loncin’s lead and shifting towards the manufacture of high-end bikes branded under the Cyclone banner.
Their presence in many western markets is still small, but they will be one of the brands to watch. We know they can produce good engines because their 450cc single cylinder engine has been around for years and is used in many bikes, from the Kove 450 Rally to the Fantic Caballero and there are many more.
Tayo
Fourth on the list is the Guangdong Tayo Motorcycle Technology Company. More commonly just known as Tayo. They are based in the South-Eastern seaboard area of the country near Guangdong and distribution hub that is the Pearl River delta.
Globally they are mainly exported under the Zontes banner and are renowned for not only their high-tech manufacturing, but also the integration of tech products on the bikes. They have a huge portfolio of patents and were I think the first to market with a big capacity triple with their 703 which is already making an impact.
With over 50 people dedicated solely on Research and Development, they have 6 production lines up and running and have a growing influence. As a brand they have taken time to build their reputation in the west. Their sales hit 1,109,100 units in 2025, and I can see those figures growing quickly as time goes on.
Sundiro-Honda
Next, in fifth we have Sundiro-Honda who had sales of 1,003,100 units. They are a major joint venture established in 2001 between the Sundiro Holding Company. Ltd. and Honda Motor Corp. They develop, manufacture, and sell Honda branded motorcycles, scooters, and electric vehicles, with production facilities in Taicang and Tianjin.
They serve as a core part of Honda’s global motorcycle business, building and exporting small capacity Honda motorcycles to over 45 countries, so I am sure that gives them a head start in many markets.
Haojin
In sixth we have Haojin, who sold 736,600 units in 2025, so our first sub 1 million unit company. Formally known as the Guangzhou Haojin Group Company, they have a strong presence in Africa and South America, and in particular they have a big dealer network in Bolivia of all places. It is dealer networks like these that are helping to drive their global sales.
Yinxiang
Seventh is Yinxiang, who are a major supplier in the Asian market, selling 729,100 units last year. They were reported as supplying over 70% of the countries motorcycles to Myanmar at one point, and have a strong presence in the markets of India, Thailand, and Laos.
Dayang
Dayang are in eighth, selling 610,200 units, and they are a brand formed by a joint venture between Luoyang Northern Ek Chor Motorcycle Company. and Chongqing Beiyi Vehicle Company.
Known not only for motorcycles, but three-wheeled cargo vehicles, and low-speed electric vehicles. Many are produced by Luoyang Northern Ek Chor Motorcycle Company. and they do have a worldwide distribution network. Surprisingly their main markets are Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.
They are another brand beginning to explore the 250cc plus sector now, with a V Twin 450cc engine in several bikes that they build. They aren’t a brand that has reached the UK yet, but if the 450 is successful on the home market I can imagine it could fill an A2 licence small capacity V twin niche very well.
Wuyang-Honda
Ninth we have another Honda joint venture. The Wuyang-Honda company, a 50/50 joint venture between Honda Motor Corp. and Guangzhou Motors Group Company.
Established in 1992, they sold 594,800 motorcycles in 2025, and are best known for producing city scooters and small-displacement bikes, although recently they have expanded into electric mobility, launching products like the E-VO electric motorbike.
Jiangmen Summit
Lastly in tenth we have Jiangmen Summit who sold 529,100 units in 2025.
Now this is a great example of the spiderweb that is the Chinese Motorcycle industry.
You see when I saw the name Jiangmen Summit Motor Company, something clicked about the name and so I checked back and found an old video where I had mentioned them. Because Jiangmen Summit are the core motorcycle brand built by the Tibet New Summit Motor Company Ltd. And the Tibet New Summit Motor Company, are also the parent company of Kove Motorcycles.
Jiangmen Summit concentrate on advanced Research and Development and manufacture engines under the ZF-KY and RMCO banners. There were lots of rumours when some of the early Kove engines had ZF-KY stamped on the casings, well now you know why.
They have successively integrated their products into many companies bikes, and have extended their services department with technical co-operations alongside YAMAHA, HONDA, KYMCO and HAOJUE to name just a few.
They have also recently established a joint-venture project with KYMCO, and have equipped their factory with advanced assemble lines for manufacturing high tolerance engines. This has now pushed up both the quality of the products and the production capacity, which has now reached over 800,000 engines a year.
Now, electric motorcycles aren’t my thing really, but the electric landscape had its own distinct heavyweights.
Electric Motorcycle Sales
The top 10 companies for electric motorcycle sales for the year were, Yadea Group at the top with 921,100 units. Luyuan with 591,500 units. Zongshen reached 465,100 units. Huaihai sold 344,900 units. CF MOTO were next on 300,300 units. Jiangsu Sunra were next with 262,900 units and Bus New Energy hit 206,900 units sold.
At the bottom of the list with far smaller sales, were Lovol selling 75,500 units. Loncin on 66,900 units and finally TAIGL finishing off the top ten with 57,800 units sold.
The Export Powerhouse
Finally, I have to talk about foreign trade, which was climbing consistently throughout 2025 and reached a new monthly high in December. During that final month alone, motorcycle exports totalled 1 and a quarter million units. That was a 12.3% increase on the November figures, and a massive 17.5% increase on the sales from the previous December numbers from 2024.
Significantly, the export value for December hit 819 million US Dollars, A growth of 9.4% from November, but a huge 17.05% growth year-on-year.
So export value is growing faster than export numbers, signifying an increase in the export of larger, higher ticket motorcycles.
Breaking down those December exports further, we see that the balance is shifting. Two-wheeled motorcycles accounted for sales of 1.1768 million units, up 11.66% from the November figures with an increase of almost 20% over the year.
Three-wheeled exports were at 61,300 units, and although this was a 27.3% increase month-on-month, it was a 12.6% drop compared to the 2024 figures.
Looking at the full year from January to December 2025, the total export value of motorcycle manufacturers was a staggering 10.9 billion US Dollars, up almost 24% on the 2024 figures.
Exports of complete motorcycles reached 13.34 million units, up 21.33%, generating an export value of 8.85 billion US Dollars, an increase of almost 27%.
There was also a big increase in engine exports.
Over 1.3 million units were sold outside of China. This marked an increase of almost 15% year-on-year in volume, and generated over 264 million US Dollars, up by 10% on the 2024 figures.
Rounding out the foreign trade data, motorcycle parts exports amounted to about 429 million US Dollars, an increase of over 7% on the 2024 figures.
Driving these massive international numbers and the top ten exporters by volume for 2025 were Dachangjiang, Loncin, Tayo, Yinxiang, Haojin, Zongshen, Sundiro-Honda, Jiangmen Summit, Lifan, and Bashan.
So despite not making the top ten in overall sales, Lifan and Bashan were top ten in the export market.
Together, these ten companies alone exported over 8.2 million motorcycles, which equates to over 61% of China’s total motorcycle exports in 2025.
It may surprise you that brands like CF Moto, QJ Motors, Keeway, Sinnis and others don’t even get a mention here, but that shows the depth of the Chinese motorcycle industry, and the often distorted view of it we have over in the west.
It is a tangled spiderweb of cooperation and support that you just don’t see happening in most western countries.
I even remember hearing one story of how 2 separate companies were running separate 12 hour shift patterns in the same factory while additional capacity was built.
Something else we need to put into perspective after Zhang Xue’s fantastic start in the World Supersport Championship. As I said earlier, Ducati sold 50,895 motorcycles in 2025.
Well, Zhang Xue had rolled out 10,000 500RR’s in the first quarter of last year and everything sold out. After the double at Portimao I got the numbers direct from the factory, and less than a week after the race, there were standing orders for 10,066 units of the ZX500RR and ZX820RR, just 10 days after the launch of the 820RR.
By those figures, it is not unreasonable to think that by the end of 2026, ZX Moto may well have sold more motorcycles globally than Ducati, that is bonkers, and if they win a few more World Supersport races, they will be looking for a bigger factory very soon, and it wont just be Ducati getting pushed down the global sales ladder.
I will keep digging to see what other surprises and details I can find that help to improve our understanding of how the Chinese motorcycle industry works, and who we should be looking out for both good and bad in the companies that do make the jump into western markets.