Yadea expands production in Tianjin

Chinese electric motorcycle maker Yadea Technology Group has further expanded its production line in Tianjin, to support its ambitious "go global" plan of exporting its new energy vehicles to more overseas markets, a senior executive of the company said.

The Wuxi, Jiangsu province-based company completed expanding and started operations of the second phase of its production line in Tianjin in November.

The newly upgraded line is expected to roll out 2 million new energy motorcycles annually, the largest among Yadea's eight production centers globally.

With an expected output of 2 billion yuan ($276.3 million) this year, the new line — built with an investment of 500 million yuan — has started producing battery-powered motorcycles for more than 100 markets globally.

"The new production line in Tianjin's Beichen district has ramped up technological upgrades to roll out top-notch new energy products and expand its global presence," said Zhang Xiaogang, vice-president of Yadea and general manager of its Tianjin branch.

From its founding in 2001 to December last year, Yadea's total sales had reached 100 million units, making it top-ranking globally in terms of electric motorcycle sales for the past eight years.

With the newly upgraded second-phase production line, the total area of Yadea's production facilities in Tianjin has expanded to more than 530,000 square meters. Its Tianjin facility also functions as an innovation base for the group, Zhang said.

Its other domestic production plants are in Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong provinces, as well as the municipality of Chongqing. Yadea has also set up two overseas centers, in Vietnam and Indonesia.

Zhang said the company has been enhancing its Tianjin center's research strength for the production of electric motorcycles and related parts. He said, "The Tianjin production line has also attracted more than 50 upstream and downstream companies to Beichen, forming an industrial chain that covers motorcycle parts manufacturing, assembly and testing."

So far, the company has invested nearly 5 billion yuan in R&D, with significant achievements seen in various sectors.

In the internet of things, for example, the company has made breakthroughs in sensor fusion algorithms and higher-level autonomous driving technologies for electric two-wheelers, such as automatic following, lane changing and parking assistance.

"Looking forward, we will take steps to launch mass production and application of autonomous driving models. Such technologies are expected to be widely applied in scenarios such as daily commuting, express delivery and shared mobility, continuously reshaping the industry ecosystem and leading the wave of intelligent transformation in the sector," Zhang said.

The company also plans to expand its presence in Vietnam and Indonesia and build intelligent manufacturing lines for motorcycle production.

On Yadea's global expansion, Zhang said there are many challenges, making its "go global" path a bumpy one.

"Fossil fuel-powered motorcycles have long dominated the Southeast Asian markets, so the company is confronted with an underdeveloped awareness among local consumers, which leads to limited acceptance of electric motorcycles. To make Yadea more popular, we have to make electric motorcycles more popular," he said.

Guo Shulong, an associate professor at the Business School of Tianjin University of Finance and Economics, suggested that Tianjin must enhance its trade measures and Customs services, including better utilization of its autonomous driving dock, to accelerate exports.

"Upgraded industrial chains are expected to form in the city for synergistic production," he said.

Additionally, Guo urged Yadea to develop more products suited to Vietnam's rainy weather and optimize its after-sales services for better market presence.

In response, Zhang said, "We need to launch strategies to address the mountainous terrain and frequent rainfall in Vietnam, including long battery life, large wheel diameter, and extended wheelbase to better meet the needs of local users."