Just like cars, Chinese motorcycles out to conquer Europe

RHO: Just as with electric cars, Chinese motorcycle brands are roaring into European markets, with high-performance, cut-price models starting to make a name for themselves.

At EICMA in Milan, Europe's biggest motorcycle show, visitors were jostling on Friday around the stand of CFMoto, one of the main Chinese brands sold in Europe.

The firm from Hangzhou has gained attention by producing engines and assembling models for Austria's KTM, then by winning two Moto3 (250cc) championships in 2024 and 2026.

Fans of BMW, Honda and Ducati came to Milan to admire a powerful model fitted with winglets, as well as the off-road machine ridden by the brand's new ambassador, Spanish rider Mario Roman.

"They're beautiful. They may not have exactly the same materials... as the Japanese manufacturers, but at this price, it works," said Renato Polistene, a 64-year-old Italian craftsman, who was looking at the stand.

Currently riding a KTM, Polistene said he could consider choosing a Chinese bike for his next purchase, especially because prices for other brands "have gone up a lot" and they tack on "too many options" to the base price.

In 2025, China became the EU's second-largest supplier of motorcycles, behind Japan, accounting for 27.1 per cent of imports, with sales reaching one billion euros, according to a report published on Thursday by the European Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers (ACEM).

The growth has been spectacular in the most powerful models, a segment traditionally dominated by European and Japanese manufacturers.

In six years, China has gone from a marginal supplier to a key player in the European market: it now accounts for nearly one-third of imports of motorcycles over 250cc, compared with just seven per cent in 2019.

The European press, which initially viewed the bikes with scepticism, now tests them like any others in its comparison reviews.

For British magazine Motorcycle News, 2026 is "the year where we see a switch".

At the Cyclone brand's stand, a band was belting out "Volare" at full blast while hostesses threw T-shirts bearing the name of the brand owned by the Zonsen group from Chongqing, China's two-wheeler industry capital.

Another Chinese giant, Qianjiang Motorcycle (QJ Motor), has itself become a little Italian by buying one of the country's national prides, Benelli, in 2005.

New start-ups are joining the big established names, such as ZXMoto, founded by Zhang Xue, a former mechanic and rider.

Thanks to his participation in the Dakar Rally, he propelled another brand, Kove, onto the international stage before founding his own.

Alessia, 27, a police officer from Turin who did not wish to give her last name, had come to look at her next Triumph model but stopped at the ZXMoto stand.

"I was really impressed by the design," she told AFP, noting that new brands on the market can "spark curiosity".

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'Revolution'

In the French market, it is "a true revolution coming from the East", wrote Bertrand Mace, president of the two-wheel division of French automotive association Mobilians, in a press release.

CFMoto established itself in October as the fifth brand in the French market, overtaking long-standing players such as Triumph, Suzuki, KTM and Yamaha.

In its wake, Zontes has doubled its sales in a year, while QJMotor and Voge are booming, according to Mobilians.

"Aggressive pricing, combined with an undeniable move upmarket, is hitting the mark with customers whose purchasing power is under pressure," said Mace.

At the CFMoto stand, executives from a major Italian brand stopped by on Wednesday to have a look at the high-speed sport bike.

"We'll have to see its price, but in the long run it could hurt us," commented one of them, who asked to remain anonymous.