Five years ago, Chongqing was one of three large motorcycle industry clusters in China. But it was far from a leading base as it was shadowed by the Jiangsu & Zhejiang area’s fast new product development speed and Gangdong area’s high-level quality.

Changes occurred in 2019. Chongqing motorcycle manufacturing enterprises have several important changes: the 1000cc displacement engine breakthrough; increasingly mature platform-based intergenerational development and appearance design; electric layout; diversified products.

Increasingly mature platform-based intergenerational development

To realize a global product intergenerational platform, the first thing is to achieve standardization, modularization and generalization. Standardization focuses on the scientific specification of the whole-process management from product development to delivery. It is the key link to achieve consistency of product delivery, reduced the comprehensive operation costs of enterprises, and reflects the smooth operation of ERP system. It symbolizes a high management level of manufacturing enterprises. Modularization means modular design, R&D, and production of all products. The modules formed and the specific terminal big data will be applied to refine the parts modules solutions to achieve personalized production. Modularization improves product development speed, customer stickiness, and iterative interaction of products. The core of generalization is to improve the general use of modular products and iterative products, which will effectively reduce the R&D cost of new products, reduce the later maintenance cost, enhance production efficiency, and compress the procurement, production and delivery cycle. These three points form the core of the enterprise’s R&D and innovation ability. Loncin and Zongshen take the lead in developing global intergenerational products. Thanks to the joint venture cooperation with BMW and Piaggio respectively, Loncin and Zongshen have entered the second decade of investment in engine research and development. Based on the engine research and development platform, they achieved platform-based iterative development of best-selling models. Loncin has created the high-tonality brand VOGE, while Zongshen’s CYCLONE centers on large displacement rally models. Another impressive brand emerging with platform-based products is Gaokin–its literbike comes with a typical British retro style, and also a high price to match the quality.

The overall appearance design of Chongqing motorcycles has gradually reached a high degree of professional proficiency. Whether it is a new design or a classic copy, most of the manufacturing enterprises have changed from the previous simple imitation to have their own design concept and brand language. Imitation still exists, but is being minimized due to the roast and criticism from enterprises and motorcycle fans.

Electric motorcycle layout

Electric two-wheeler products starts in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and are distributed in Tianjin, Wuxi, Taizhou, Dongguan and Shenzhen. Chongqing is later than other areas in entering the electric field due to its nature as a traditional motorcycle manufacturing base. But Chongqing motorcycle enterprises have seized the opportunity of the motorcycle electrification trend. Among them, Zongshen’s Cineco was the earliest electric brand. Then Surron opened the door of the European market with its off-road model Light Bee. In July, Loncin’s electric motorcycle brand “BICOSE” was released. The competition of electric motorcycle market will be more fierce, and the product lines will make up for the shortage of standard bikes in the market.

Competition heats up. A typical example is Surron’s Light Bee–several small enterprises in Chongqing are producing similar products. Off-road models do not have a large market space, whether international or domestic. Like the previous GY/PY fuel off-road products, only a few enterprises survived. The living space for electric off-road bikes will be smaller, which is likely to cause price competition among the brands.

Diversified products

Chongqing concentrated more than 30 motorcycle brands that have their respective product focus, for instance, Hisun’s exclusive UTVs/ATVs, Shineray’s four-wheeler + two-wheeler product strategy, Bashan’s steady progress, Jialing-Jiapeng’s classic COCO, XGJAO’s preparation for the launch of large-displacement products, KOVE’s racing models, and the  small giants FUEGO and ANDES with the focus on the international market.

Today’s Chongqing base covers the whole industry chain spanning from motorcycle R&D, supporting products, manufacturing, testing to talent cultivation. It is the most concentrated industrial cluster of motorcycle manufacturing, with complete product lines covering two-wheelers, three-wheelers, four-wheelers, standard bikes, scooters, road and off-road models, fuel and electric motorcycles.

Every September, hundreds of thousands of young riders gather in the mountain city, driving the boom of China’s motorcycle market. Motorcycle manufacturing and culture has become a new urban symbol of Chongqing.

Now, Chongqing has become an undisputed leading motorcycle manufacturing base.