News – The Chinese tweak their offensive – JIALING occasions

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The Chinese refine their offensive

News - The Chinese tweak their offensive - JIALING occasions

Announced and feared by professionals in the sector for years, the Chinese wave on the two-wheeler market is long overdue … Calm before the storm? A preview of the new products presented by the importer SIDAM at the Mondial.

After several years of more or less risky predictions, will 2006 be the year of the long-awaited – and feared – advent of Chinese motorcycles in France? ?

In any case, this is the stated objective of SIDAM (Company for the import and distribution of cars and motorcycles), specializing in the distribution of Chinese motorcycles and scooters since the end of 2002 (read), which presented this morning to The Pagoda, the most Chinese cinema in the capital, its novelties and objectives for 2006.

4000 sales in 2006

The main importer of Chinese motorcycles in France hopes to confirm the steady increase in its sales in 2006 and has a fairly ambitious target of 4,000 units (600 in 2003, 1,400 in 2004 and 2,400 planned for 2005).

"At the time of the 2003 World Cup, we only had a few months of existence and we may not have been able to communicate enough about our activities.", recognizes today the young Aurelia Laurent-Chauvet, president of SIDAM and daughter of Pierre Laurent-Chauvet (former head of motorcycles at Honda and the two-wheel sector at Renault, read).

Prices below the market

All the new products presented by SIDAM a few weeks before the World Cup have one thing in common: a super competitive price. "All our models are below the market"specifies Aurelia Laurent-Chauvet, even if questions concerning reliability and the supply of spare parts still seem to frighten consumers if we are to believe the generally modest sales achieved so far (read on the overall market report 2004 and our).

"I have no concerns about the reliability of our products because the Chinese do not use risky technologies such as on-board electronics", advance for his part Pierre Laurent-Chauvet."And I am not pessimistic about the future, because the Chinese react very well to these fears and they adapt their production to European expectations.".

In accordance with the new legislation, "all our products are guaranteed for two years", adds Aurelia Laurent-Chauvet:"in addition, we systematically import a batch of spare parts per model to meet the demand of our 160 dealers, who can even place their orders on the internet thanks to our professional site.".

A European platform could even be set up soon with a Chinese manufacturer, in order to guarantee the supply of the Old Continent with spare parts..

Jialing 600 cc: the biggest Chinese motorcycle

Among the main Chinese novelties that will be exhibited from October 1 to 9 at the Mondial du Deux-Roues at Porte de Versailles (read our), let us point out the attractive (a priori) Jialing 600 cc, the largest motorcycle ever produced in China. !

This is a road trail powered by a 600 cc liquid-cooled single cylinder, fueled by injection and a catalyst conforming to Euro 3 standards, which should be available in early 2006 at an unbeatable price … Soon to be tested in Moto-Net !

Also note in the 2006 Chinese novelties department:

CF Moto V3 "Moto Scooter"

An astonishing 250cc liquid-cooled 4-stroke single cylinder with electric starter, automatic transmission and full fairing.

Jialing JLR 125

A 125 cc air-cooled 4-stroke single-cylinder engine conforming to Euro 2 standards with a single double-steel double-cradle frame and long-travel suspensions.

Jialing JL125-33

A 125cc air-cooled 4-stroke inline-twin with electric starter, single-cradle steel frame and nose screen.

Zongshen LZX250-5

An air-cooled 250cc 4-stroke V-twin which, however, should not be distributed in France but in Italy and Switzerland.

Among SIDAM’s projects for the awakening of Chinese motorcycles in France in 2006, we should also note the objective of moving to a network of 200 dealers (compared to 160 today) for all seven brands (Beyond, CF Moto, Jialing, Jinchen, Lifan, Regal Raptor and Zongshen).

Finally, more confidential but to be followed carefully: a major Chinese manufacturer is studying a plan to take over the Italian brand Vertemati … previously distributed by SIDAM. Stay connected !

Eric MICHEL – Photos DR and Eric MICHEL

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