BYD denies plans to launch motorcycles after rumors swirl

BYD is focusing on its main businesses and has no plans to launch motorcycles, an executive said, after some patent drawings sparked speculation.

(A motorcycle patent drawing made public by a Chinese national enterprise database on September 10, 2024. The owner of the patent is BYD.)

BYD (HKG: 1211, OTCMKTS: BYDDY) has denied it has plans to launch motorcycles, after some patent drawings sparked widespread speculation.

“We reiterate: BYD is focusing on its main businesses now and in the future, and has no plans to make motorcycles,” Li Yunfei, the new energy vehicle (NEV) maker's general manager in charge of branding and public relations, said in a Weibo post today.

He attached a picture of the motorcycle's exterior patent, showing that the patent is owned by BYD.

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The design in the attached image was made by BYD Electronic, a BYD company, for its customers late last year, Li said.

On September 10, the motorcycle's design patent drawings were made public. Its description information shows the patent is owned by BYD, sparking speculation that the NEV maker will launch motorcycles.

Notably, there were rumors about BYD launching electric motorcycles in May, when some images were also circulated on social media.

Li denied the rumors at the time, saying that those images and videos were fake.

BYD is the world's largest NEV maker as well as the world's second-largest power battery maker.

The denial of plans to make motorcycles doesn't mean that BYD is not involved in the field at all.

In addition to BYD Electronic's OEM business, FinDreams Battery, BYD's battery manufacturing arm, said on February 25 that it would use its passenger car battery technology to develop two-wheeler batteries with high safety.

FinDreams would apply its passenger car developments to the two-wheeler segment, increasing its R&D investment in the two-wheeler industry, the company said in a statement at the time.

The statement came two days after a fire broke out in a residential building in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, in the early hours of February 23, suspected to be caused by a fire in an electric two-wheeler, killing 15 people and injuring 44 others.

FinDreams would collaborate with different parties to develop safe batteries that can be placed inside buildings, it said at the time.