Chinese motorcycle brand CFMOTO has been accelerating its momentum in the Czech market, as European riders broaden their horizons beyond traditional bike makers.
The brand has been gaining attention from Europe's top riders. In the Czech Republic's Vilanec, European rally champion Tomas Valal recently tried out a CFMOTO bike, taking it for a ride on a course consisting of mud, rocks and steep climbs. He was impressed by the bike's design.
"The design is cool, compact and lightweight. It's not heavy," he said.
2026 is the second year the CFMOTO MT Challenge will place in Europe, with the event slated for September. The Czech and Slovak qualifiers will send their top riders to the global final in Spain in September. Last year, the first final brought 72 riders from nearly 20 countries to Australia.
Matej Oliva was one of the riders there. He says Chinese motorcycles are changing the racing culture in Europe and reshaping the market.
"I remember times when everything was traditional superbike types of motorcycles. If you want to go to terrain [riding] or travel, you have to have a BMW or KTM and nothing else. But I think the mindset of people is different now. They want value for money," said the rider.
Beyond racing, the appeal of Chinese motorcycles is also growing among everyday riders. Market insiders believe the attraction goes beyond price to include technology, equipment and a growing dealer network.
Jan Dohnal, general sales manager of bike distributor Journeyman, said customers are looking for connectivity features.
"Customers are looking for technologies like display connectivity with the mobile phone and navigation. People want to sit on the bike for the whole day, just put a finger somewhere on the map and go there," said Dohnal.
Chinese motorcycles gain ground in European market
New Zealand's ruling National-led coalition has secured a parliamentary majority in the general election, preliminary results showed early Sunday, putting Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on course to retain power for a second term.
The Election Commission's tally of all voting places has resulted in 11 "overhang" seats, increasing to 131 the total number of seats in parliament, which normally has 120.
Among the seats, the National Party, ACT New Zealand and New Zealand First collectively secured 67, giving the three-party coalition a narrow majority to continue governing, while the opposition bloc of the Labor Party, the Green Party and the Maori Party garnered 57 in total.
The contest between the National and the Labor, led by former prime minister Chris Hipkins, remained exceptionally close, with each securing over 29 percent, according to preliminary figures.
Addressing supporters in Auckland, Luxon said the election was "too close to call," with the final outcome hinging on special votes to be counted. He acknowledged that negotiations and compromise would be needed to form the next government.
The outcome could still change when 700,000 special votes are counted days later. These include ballots cast by overseas voters and people voting outside their electorates, and are not included in the preliminary results, according to the Electoral Commission, which is scheduled to release the final official results, including special votes, on Nov. 27.
The Green Party has won a record 16 seats in parliament. The centrist Opportunity Party has also made a parliamentary breakthrough, projected to win seven seats, preliminary results showed.
The country has nearly 3.8 million provisionally enrolled voters for the 2026 general election, representing 93.6 percent of the estimated eligible population, below the final enrolment rates of 94.7 percent in 2023 and 94.1 percent in 2020, the commission said.
New Zealand uses the mixed-member proportional voting system to elect its parliament. Under this system, voters cast two ballots, one for a political party and another for their local electorate candidate. The government is usually formed by two or more parliamentary political parties.
New Zealand's National-led coalition wins majority parliamentary seats: preliminary results
