Guangdong's Tayo motorcycle advances global ambitions in R&D push

Guangdong province-based Tayo Motorcycle Technology Co Ltd, a major Chinese motorcycle producer, is ramping up efforts to pursue technological upgrades and improve its global competitiveness, according to a senior business executive.

Xie Sheng, an executive at Tayo, said his company aims to develop the world's finest motorcycles while keeping them affordable for ordinary people.

"To this end, we have to independently master all core technologies," he told visiting journalists during a media tour in Guangdong province earlier this week.

"A motorcycle consists of thousands of components, down to the smallest screws. And in my company, even the gears, crankshafts and cylinders inside the engine are all independently developed and manufactured by us," said Xie.

Based in the city of Jiangmen, Tayo now employs more than 1,000 R&D personnel to guarantee progress and deliver high-quality products.

According to Xie, a group of motorcycle manufacturing experts from Japan, a major motorcycle manufacturing country, once visited the facility in the early days of the company, as they suspected the company had stolen Japanese technologies.

"Yet inspections revealed no such infringement at all, as all the products were independently developed in-house," he said, noting that his company has since been granted more than 300 national patents.

Tayo Motorcycle's Zontes brand is the first in China to develop a self-designed three-cylinder engine. In 2024, the brand launched the 703F, a three-cylinder ADV adventure tourer that remains the only domestic triple-cylinder model on the market.

This was followed by the 703RR triple-cylinder sportbike and the 703R triple-cylinder racing motorcycles/sportbike. Xie said both models can deliver over 100 horsepower and have won acclaim from motorcycle enthusiasts and riders both in China and abroad for their high performance.

Zontes motorcycles are highly sought-after in several overseas markets, Xie said.

"Going forward, we will continue to delve deep into technological R&D, with a goal to comprehensively surpass the world's top brands and make 'Made-in-China' an even more renowned name across the globe," Xie added.

Established in 2003 in Jiangmen, Tayo Motorcycle, a key hub within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, has grown into one of the country's major motorcycle manufacturers.

China remains the world's largest motorcycle producer and exporter. According to the China Chamber of Commerce for Motorcycle, the industry's production and sales reached 22.11 million and 21.97 million units, respectively, in 2025, up 10.6 percent and 10.2 percent year-on-year. Exports hit 13.37 million units in the same year, marking a 21.3-percent increase, according to a Xinhua report.

zhengcaixiong@chinadaily.com.cn