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Kymco, Ltd
Company typePrivate
IndustryPowersports
Founded1963; 61 years ago (1963)
Headquarters
Kaohsiung
,
Taiwan
ProductsMotorcycles, Scooters, ATV's
Websitewww.kymco.com
Kymco dealership in France

Kymco (an acronym for Kwang Yang Motor Co, Ltd (Chinese: 光陽工業; pinyin: Guāngyáng Gōngyè)) (stylized as KYMCO) is a Taiwanese motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. With approximately 3000 employees, Kymco produces over 570,000 vehicles annually at its factory in Kaohsiung. The company also has production facilities in Indonesia, Malaysia, and PR China.

History

The company was founded in 1964 after splitting from Honda. KYMCO originally made parts for Honda. The company built its first complete scooter in 1970 and began marketing under the "KYMCO" brand name in 1992. In the 2000s, Kymco became the largest scooter manufacturer in Taiwan, and the fifth largest scooter manufacturer worldwide.[1] In early 2008, KYMCO was chosen by BMW to supply the engines for their G450 X Enduro bike.[2] The optional range extender in the BMW i3 is also supplied by Kymco.[3] In late 2013, Kawasaki announced that their new J300 scooter is manufactured in partnership with Kymco. It is based on a Kymco Downtown 300i.[4]

Products

Scooters

Kymco Activ
Kymco Filly 50
Kymco G3
Kymco Like 125
2009 Kymco Sento 50cc/100cc
Kymco Vitality
Kymco CV 3 550i

Motorcycles

Kymco KTR 125
Kymco Quannon

ATVs

Kymco MXU 500 quad

Kymco in the United States

Kymco has its U.S. subsidiary KYMCO USA headquartered in Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States and sells its vehicles and products via 600 franchised dealerships located throughout the country. For the U.S. market, Kymco offers 10 scooters, eight side by sides, 14 ATVs and two small displacement motorcycles in its line of products. Kymco was the official Scooter and ATV for the NHRA[7] and with Gray Motorsports primary sponsor of the 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Who is KYMCO?". ScooterUnderground. Retrieved 2009-12-26.
  2. ^ "BMW Taps KYMCO". DealerNews. 2008-02-02. Archived from the original on 2009-08-04. Retrieved 2009-12-26.
  3. ^ "BMW Partnering with Kymco for i3 Range Extender". 19 March 2013.
  4. ^ "Kawasaki J300 scooter confirmed".
  5. ^ "Compagno 110i Overview - KYMCO USA". Archived from the original on 2017-08-09. Retrieved 2017-10-05.
  6. ^ "Kymco CK1 125 for sale in the UK | Let's Go Kymco". www.kymco.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2014-06-06.
  7. ^ "KYMCO USA named Official Scooter and ATV of NHRA". NHRA News. 10 December 2009. Archived from the original on 2 January 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  8. ^ "KYMCO USA, Gray Motorsports ink multirace primary sponsorship". NHRA Story. 26 February 2014. Archived from the original on 2 January 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2015.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kwang Yang Motor.
Automotive industry in Taiwan
Motorcycles and Motorcycling (outline)
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