Recently, Chinese motorcycle manufacturer "Zhang Xue Motorcycle" won the championship in both rounds of the World Superbike Championship. This is not only a highlight moment for Chinese motorcycle companies, but also a footnote to the accumulated strength of my country’s motorcycle manufacturing industry.

The reporter learned from the interview that as the world's largest motorcycle producer and seller, after decades of development, my country has formed a complete and resilient motorcycle industry chain system, and the industry is accelerating towards electrification, intelligence, and high-end.

China’s motorcycle racing breakthrough comes from the solid support of a complete industrial chain.

In Chongqing, the "Capital of Automobiles and Motorcycles", there are 51 motorcycle companies above designated size and more than 410 parts companies above designated size. They have complete supporting capabilities for major assemblies such as engines, clutches, frames, shock absorbers, steering, wheels, tires, instruments, etc., and have formed a comprehensive production capacity of more than 20 million complete vehicles and 20 million engines per year.

"Zhang Xue Motorcycle" gallops on the track. (Photo provided by interviewee)

“Chongqing’s supply chain is very complete. Tens of thousands of parts for a motorcycle can all be supplied in Chongqing. All parts of the vehicle that won this championship can be ‘purely made in China.’” said Zhang Xue, founder of “Zhangxue Motorcycle”.

Wang Yao, vice president of strategic investment of Zongshen Group, told reporters that the complete industrial chain not only dilutes costs, but also gives companies the ability to quickly respond to market demand. "For example, a foreign customer can customize a new model from design to mass production in as little as 3 months."

In the "Zhang Xue Motorcycle" factory, maintenance personnel are inspecting vehicles. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Huang Wei

The entire chain from engine, frame to core components is independently controllable, giving Chinese motorcycle companies the ability to efficiently transform from drawings to mass production. "Zhang Xue Motorcycles" was established in 2024. The models produced in just a few years won the championship in the world competition, confirming Zhang Xue's remarks after the game: "As long as there are drawings for any part on the vehicle, it can be 100% made in China."

A complete industrial system supports the production and sales volume of China's motorcycle industry. Data from the China Motorcycle Chamber of Commerce shows that the scale of my country's motorcycle industry will further grow in 2025, with production and sales reaching 22.109 million units and 21.967 million units respectively, a year-on-year increase of 10.6% and 10.2%; of which, export sales were 13.365 million units, a year-on-year increase of 21.3%.

If a complete industrial system is the foundation, then technological change and consumption upgrading are the engines that drive the industry forward.

“The traditional straddle-type clutch shifting operation is gradually being replaced.” At Chongqing Zongshen Motorcycle Industrial Manufacturing Co., Ltd., technical expert Wang Tao pointed to an automatic motorcycle and introduced that this motorcycle uses a CVT continuously variable transmission system, eliminating the need for clutch operation and frequent gear shifting. The driver can move forward smoothly by twisting the accelerator, which reduces the difficulty of driving.

Changes in operating methods highlight changes in product positioning. Motorcycles are accelerating their transition from “cargo carrying” and “commuting” to attributes such as “technology” and “leisure”.

This jump is first reflected in the displacement upgrade. In 2025, my country's production and sales of large-displacement leisure and entertainment motorcycles with a displacement of 250cc or above will be 953,700 and 952,300 respectively, a year-on-year increase of 23.3% and 25.87%. The growth rate far exceeds the industry average level of the global large-displacement motorcycle market.

Electrification and intelligence are important directions for the development of the motorcycle industry.

On March 20, 2026, in the technology research and development center of Loncin General Dynamics Co., Ltd., a test engineer pressed the start button, and the first engine equipped with GDI (cylinder direct injection) technology in the Chinese motorcycle industry successfully ignited.

Li Xianwen, director of Loncin General Technology Center, said that for a long time, high-end two-wheel fuel power technology has been dominated by European, American and Japanese industry giants, and GDI is one of the key core technologies. This successful ignition is an important technological breakthrough for China's motorcycle industry to promote the electrification transformation under the trend of low-carbon and efficient development.

In recent years, a series of "hard-core technologies" from Chinese motorcycle companies have impressed people: Yadi's Feiyue FD9 electric motorcycle is equipped with a high-voltage lithium iron phosphate battery, which accelerates to 100 kilometers in just 4.9 seconds and charges from 0 to 80% in just 10 minutes; Qianjiang Motorcycle released an intelligent AI riding assistance system that integrates intelligent hardware and software. It has monitoring, warning, and safety protection functions, and can complete navigation and vehicle control through voice interaction.

In September 2025, the audience experienced the automatic head tilt function of the domestic new energy motorcycle controller at the Chongqing Motorcycle Expo. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Cheng

Chongqing motorcycle enthusiast Huang Yalin said that for young people, the criteria for purchasing motorcycles have become "whether the mobile phone can project the screen and whether there is a track mode." On social platforms, motorcycle-related short videos frequently receive millions of likes, and motorcycle culture is becoming the social language of some young people.

Zuo Zongshen, president of the China Motorcycle Chamber of Commerce, said that electrification and intelligence are changing the industry structure, and we must keep up with the times, strengthen independent innovation, and promote industrial upgrading.

The victory of "Zhang Xue Motorcycle" shows that Chinese motorcycle manufacturers have achieved world-class competitiveness at the technical level, but to achieve the leap from a "manufacturing power" to a "brand power", the industry still needs to continue to evolve.

Many industry insiders believe that it is necessary to prevent the spread of "involution" and "price war" of low-end motorcycles, gradually increase the proportion of high-end motorcycles, and allow "intelligent manufacturing in China" to better form a "Chinese brand" in the global market. At the same time, the motorcycle industry should accelerate the integrated development of electrification and intelligence, improve the intelligent interactive experience, make full use of new technologies such as AI, and achieve dual upgrades of personalized services and safety guarantees. (Reporters Tian Jinwen and Huang Xing)