China's motorized tricycles, mainly popular in rural areas for local transport, are fast becoming a new popular export product. China is also famous for production clusters, where the production of a certain product and its parts are concentrated in a few hubs. Yanshi district of Luoyang city in Henan province is known as China’s three-wheeler hub. One out of every three tricycles in China is made there, and all the parts required to assemble a tricycle can be gathered within 30 minutes. The humble vehicle is now growing in popularity overseas, including in Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and even the U.S. Even Hua Chunying, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Xie Feng, China’s Ambassador to the U.S., have promoted them on social media. The tricycles’ popularity has quickly boosted upstream industries. This year, industrial regions like Wuxi and Xuzhou in Jiangsu province, Linyi in Shandong province, and Luoyang in Henan have all had their economies boosted by the vehicle.
In late April, the 11th China Three-wheeled Motorcycle Industry Development Summit in Yanshi saw contracts worth CNY500 million signed, a record amount, according to the local government. “With the push from China’s new energy market, foreign traders are eager to collaborate with Chinese manufacturers. Trade inquiries have increased significantly this year,” said Yang Yanchang, Deputy General Manager of the International Trade Department of Luoyang Zhufeng Motor Tricycle Co. “This never happened before.” Yang credits the increasing popularity of tricycles to their cost-effectiveness. In international markets, the price of a three-wheeler ranges from USD800 to USD4,000. “These affordable, high-quality, and eco-friendly vehicles are well-suited for farm work and goods transportation overseas,” he said.
Zhufeng, a leading manufacturer in Yanshi, was one of the first to begin exporting tricycles. They now export over 20,000 tricycles annually, with an export value exceeding USD30 million, reaching more than 50 countries and regions. The company's first export order was clinched in 2011 at the Canton Fair with a customer in Angola. Zhufeng then began organizing regular trips for foreign trade staff to coastal provinces like Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Guangdong to broaden their horizons and ideas. Li Pengfei, Director of the Management Center at Zhufeng, said that the first stop for many African customers in China is Guangzhou. The primary export destinations for Yanshi tricycles are developing countries where tricycles play a crucial role in the transportation of crops and passengers, and the operation of stalls. Li compares their use to “China 20 years ago”. Luoyang’s first tricycle, arguably also China’s first, was made 32 years ago.
The peak for Yanshi’s tricycles was in 2014 and 2015, with annual domestic sales reaching 1.1 million units. However, in recent years tricycle demand has dropped due to market saturation and equipment upgrade policies. In 2023, domestic sales in Yanshi fell to 400,000, about a third of a decade ago. Now the tricycles have found markets abroad. Last year, the district’s total three-wheeler production and sales reached 400,000 units, with over 20 million parts sold, generating revenue of approximately CNY4.5 billion. In the first quarter of this year, Luoyang’s motorcycle exports exceeded CNY230 million, up 48.4% year-on-year.
This year’s focus is “going global”, targeting new overseas markets, especially countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The Covid-19 pandemic significantly impacted three-wheeler exports over the past three years, but since the second half of 2023, overseas demand has surged, said Yun Fubo, owner of Luoyang Jiasi Trade Co. According to market research firm DIResaerch, the global electric tricycle market was worth CNY61.86 billion last year and is expected to reach CNY149.89 billion by 2030. The Asia-Pacific region is the largest market, with about 90% of the global total in 2023, followed by Europe with around 5%, the China Daily reports.
