What’s this? Is Zongshen’s Harmony Intelligent Driving launching a slow-speed electric tricycle?
Not long ago， a photo circulated online， appearing to be a launch event for a three-wheeled vehicle named “AITO Q1.”
However， judging by the crude quality of this poster， it’s unlikely to be an official production from Harmony Intelligent Driving.
This was actually an act by a company called Zongshen.
For those familiar with motorcycles， this might come as a surprise: Zongshen is no small player. It is a major motorcycle giant， ranking among the top three in China， with a market capitalization of 27.7 billion yuan and annual sales exceeding 1.5 million units.
Fortunately， Zongshen quickly issued a sincere apology， attributing the incident to an internal lapse in review and promising to rectify the related product immediately.
Frankly， this “Harmony Intelligent Driving + Tricycle” incident is rather absurd. Zongshen， a company with a significant reputation， should not display such a lack of legal awareness. However， after tracing Zongshen’s entire development history， it appears this move is a result of their long-term focus on the lower-tier market.
We’ve previously had readers express interest in learning about motorcycle brands， so we’ll take this opportunity to discuss Zongshen.
Like many startups， Zongshen began as a small workshop. Its founder， Zuo Zongshen， was a motorcycle repairman and shop owner in Chongqing in 1982. In the 1980s， owning a motorcycle was a rare luxury for most people， akin to a significant achievement. The scarcity of motorcycles made repair a lucrative profession， and Zuo Zongshen’s repair shop grew steadily.
After ten years of repairing motorcycles in Chongqing， Zuo Zongshen earned the respected title of “Master Zuo” for his exceptional skills. However， repairing bikes was no longer enough to satisfy him. Coincidentally， Zuo Zongshen’s wife， Yuan Dexiu， was related to Chen Qiaofeng， the wife of Yin Mingshan. Yin Mingshan， who would later become the chairman of Lifan， was at the time the owner of Chongqing Vocational Education Publishing House and had achieved some success， publishing the widely popular “Pang Zhonghua Calligraphy Copybook.”
Many of us likely recall the rigorous practice associated with it during our childhood.
Yin Mingshan observed that most engine technology was held by joint ventures， leading to a market shortage of engines. Seeing a business opportunity， he also aimed to enter the motorcycle industry. Thus， through the connection of their wives， Zuo Zongshen and Yin Mingshan joined forces. Yin Mingshan provided the capital， while Zuo Zongshen brought the technical expertise， leading to the establishment of Hongda Vehicle Parts Research Institute. The name “Hongda” sounds similar to “Honda，” and Zuo Zongshen made no secret of his admiration for Honda， a sentiment mirrored in his later naming of Zongshen.
Shortly after its establishment， Hongda found a lucrative opportunity. Construction Group was selling an engine for over 6，000 yuan. Hongda， however， could purchase disassembled parts from Construction Group， assemble them， and sell them for 1，998 yuan， a third of the original price. Orders poured in.
During this assembly process， Hongda progressively learned to independently produce core engine components. Even when Construction Group ceased supplying parts， they were still capable of autonomous engine production. By 1994， while domestic manufacturers were still using 50cc and 70cc engines， Hongda had developed China’s first 100cc four-stroke engine， representing a significant technological leap.
However， following a path of “tribute” often comes with consequences. In 1995， Hongda transitioned from engine production to directly manufacturing motorcycles. It was around this time that Zuo Zongshen and Yin Mingshan likely diverged over the approach to their “tribute” strategy. Based on corporate registration information， Zuo Zongshen likely opposed the aggressive imitation， while Yin Mingshan continued the “tribute” approach. In 1995， Zongshen Motorcycle Technology Group Co.， Ltd. was established， allowing Zuo Zongshen to pursue his own path. In 1997， Hongda was renamed Lifan， and its vehicle trademarks overtly mimicked Honda’s. The two parties officially parted ways.
Returning to the motorcycle market， as it was still a seller’s market， domestically produced motorcycles， priced nearly half of their Japanese counterparts， thrived. Zongshen also grew significantly during this period. According to an interview with Zuo Zongshen in “Monthly Magazine of Science and Technology Entrepreneurship，” Zongshen adopted a strategy of “encircling the cities from the countryside，” targeting its product development towards the vast rural population. Its advertising also focused on practical channels like vehicle advertisements and newspaper ads， even distributing free magazines in villages.
Building upon its foundations in rural markets， Zongshen also established a high-speed boat company and a Jiangsu Zongshen， specializing in three-wheeled vehicles， which would later prove crucial in helping Zongshen overcome challenges.
The accompanying image shows that at the time， the average annual disposable income in China was only a little over 2，000 yuan， while popular joint-venture models cost around 20，000 yuan. In contrast， a Zongshen 125 was priced at just 4，000 yuan.
With this precise market positioning， Zongshen experienced remarkable growth. By 1997， its net assets had reached 300 million yuan， positioning it as the second-largest private enterprise in Chongqing.
Naturally， as a motorcycle enthusiast himself， Zuo Zongshen then focused on performance aspects. In 1999， Zongshen began participating in world motorcycle competitions， forming a racing project team. The following year， they successfully developed China’s first large-displacement motorcycle racer， the ZS-750.
Perhaps driven by Zongshen’s demand for racing and engine development expertise， they approached the then-struggling renowned Italian automaker Piaggio. Audrey Hepburn’s iconic Vespa in “Roman Holiday” was a Piaggio product (the model in this picture is Diana Teliha).
After three years of negotiations and governmental involvement from both countries， Zongshen and Piaggio finalized their joint venture in 2004. Piaggio agreed to provide Zongshen with a full range of scooter engine technology， from 50cc to 500cc. Following this， Zongshen launched models such as the ZIP50， CAMA 100， and BYQ 125-2. The joint venture with Piaggio filled the gap in Zongshen’s scooter offerings and leveraged Piaggio’s brand recognition to enhance its own image.
However， as Zongshen and Piaggio aggressively expanded production and introduced new models， a crisis loomed. Firstly， China implemented widespread motorcycle bans. By 2006， 168 cities had enforced bans or restrictions on motorcycles. Industry leaders like Jialing and Jianshe mentioned the severe situation in their annual reports for that year.
Zongshen was no exception. Having just signed a deal with a major foreign brand， the motorcycle bans effectively blocked their path to the high-end market， which severely impacted Zuo Zongshen. In publications from that year， Zuo Zongshen can be seen advocating for policies that better support motorcycle enterprises.
However， as we know， motorcycles at the time were associated with unpleasant exhaust fumes (due to non-compliant emissions)， frequent snatch-and-grab robberies， and numerous casualties. The motorcycle ban was an irreversible trend.
Adding to this， the global financial crisis coincided with these developments， pushing Zongshen to its lowest point. According to Zuo Zongshen， in 2008， Zongshen’s orders plummeted by 60%， leading to idle production lines and a highly tense situation.
In such critical circumstances， the lower-tier market became Zongshen’s most robust foundation. By fully leveraging the potential of its existing customer base， Zongshen began producing whatever these customers needed.
Consequently， Zongshen’s agricultural machinery began to gain momentum. Utilizing technology originating from its motorcycle production， it diversified into agricultural tools such as farming machinery， water pumps， and lawnmowers.
In 2008， Zongshen’s sales of three-wheeled vehicle engines reached 1.3226 million units， a 24.7% increase year-on-year， accounting for 43.91% of its total engine sales.
By 2009， Zongshen’s tillers and tea pruning machines were included in the “National Recommended Agricultural Machinery Products Catalog (2009-2011)，” granting them policy subsidies and further stimulating demand.
Seeing the strong sales performance， Zongshen capitalized on this momentum. In 2013， it formed a joint venture with the Italian company Barbieri S.R.L. to produce tractors. In 2015， it partnered with Gomel Agricultural Machinery Plant in Belarus to produce large-scale， high-end agricultural machinery， covering a wide range of products.
However， while focusing on agricultural machinery development， Zongshen and Piaggio neglected the growing recreational motorcycle market in recent years. As brands like CFMoto， Qianjiang， and Tanjun gained traction among younger riders， Zongshen and Piaggio failed to produce compelling new models.
In 2024， Zongshen’s three brands ranked ninth in sales volume for motorcycles above 200cc.
Clearly， their focus lies elsewhere. As of 2024， Zongshen’s general-purpose machinery accounted for 50.29% of its business， surpassing motorcycles at 36.77%， making it the largest revenue source.
This concludes the overview of Zongshen’s development journey.
Reflecting on Zongshen as a company， it evolved from “encircling the cities from the countryside” to surviving crises and regaining prominence through its agricultural machinery business.
It has now grown into a major enterprise with a market value reaching tens of billions， involved in multiple sectors including general-purpose machinery， motorcycles， aviation， and new energy. Last year， Zongshen directly invested 3.346 billion yuan to acquire a 24.5513% stake in Loncin. This strong alliance has propelled it past Changjiang Group to become China’s largest motorcycle manufacturer.
The reason many people might not be familiar with the brand is that its products targeting lower-tier markets are less visible to the mainstream consumer.
As it happens， a colleague from our publication owns a Zongshen vehicle， and their experience aligns with common perceptions. After 10，000 kilometers， the rear taillight broke， the front light malfunctioned， and the engine occasionally stalled at idle. It’s primarily used for short commutes near the office. However， given its initial price of only 5，000 yuan， what more could one expect?
This recent tricycle incident further highlights Zongshen’s excessive focus on the lower-tier market.
The company attempted to appeal to its existing customer base while simultaneously seeking broader attention. However， it demonstrated a lack of understanding， or perhaps a disregard， for the nuances of current public discourse and general public sentiment online， ultimately triggering an online backlash.
That being said， regardless of public opinion， it seems this doesn’t significantly affect their vehicle sales.
