Who Makes CFMOTO Engines & Where Are Their Off-Road Vehicles Produced?

CFMOTO is one of the major players in the off-roading automotive scene, plying its trade in rugged motorcycles like the 450MT, ATVs like the CFORCE 1000, and the parts that make them up. The brand has been around since 1989, and you can find its products alongside other big names like Polaris and Can-Am. CFMOTO bills its vehicles as "made for the American dream," able to withstand rides through both rocky, uneven riverbeds and shifting sand dunes.

Since the brand and its products make appearances all over the world, it's understandable to wonder where, exactly, it's all coming from. Perhaps more importantly, how can CFMOTO products be so affordable compared to their contemporaries? It's no big secret — CFMOTO just has a lot of experience in creating reliable off-roading parts and vehicles and selling them at an attractive price. Here's a quick overview of the brand's history, location, and production process.

Technically speaking, the company isn't actually called CFMOTO — that's just the trade name. The actual company is called Zhejiang CFMOTO Power Co., Ltd. The company was founded in Hangzhou, China in 1989, originally as a secondary manufacturer of existing engine designs before evolving into designing, building, and selling its own parts. The CFMOTO brand has been seen in both private and professional sectors, selling its vehicles, parts, and helpful ATV accessories to both hobbyist off-roaders and professionals in need of rugged vehicles like police and firefighters.

The company expanded out to the United States in 2002, bringing its ATVs and side-by-sides along for the ride. During the 2000s, CFMOTO established its official United States headquarters in Plymouth, Minnesota, where it worked to better engineer vehicles with western consumers in mind. In this time, CFMOTO also established branch offices in Europe and Thailand, providing its wares to over 4,000 dealers across over 100 countries and regions.

While CFMOTO has a handful of corporate locations around the world, its primary factories are based in China, near its HQ. Similarly to most products manufactured in China and shipped worldwide, CFMOTO is able to keep its prices competitive because labor costs are generally lower in China than in other major economies. CFMOTO products are cheap to make, so they're cheap to sell, though that doesn't mean they skimp on quality. CFMOTO's founder actually invented (and trademarked) the liquid-cooled 4-stroke engine, a component that has appeared in other prominent ATV brands.

Profits from sales have been reinvested into manufacturing R&D, which helps to optimize the manufacturing process further, not to mention supply chain systems. In addition to its primary Chinese plant, CFMOTO also runs a secondary plant in Thailand, as well as a brand new plant in Mexico that opened in 2023. With even more manufacturing muscle, it will likely become even easier for CFMOTO to distribute its wares.