ZX Moto: After Supersport, soon to be in the Sportbike and Superbike World Championships too?

Zhang Xue is a man of vision. When the Chinese entrepreneur realised that he could not realise his vision as a co-founder of Kove, he left the company and founded a new firm in 2024, naming it ZX Moto after himself. Xue comes from a humble background and worked his way up from a simple mechanic to the head of a thriving motorbike manufacturer.

His strategy of using the production-based World Championship as a marketing platform paid off. With Evan Bros Racing as a strong partner, Valentin Debise secured six wins in the 2026 Supersport World Championship and finished the season as runner-up. The 820RR and other ZX Moto models saw a boom in orders.

At the EICMA motorbike show, Xue – who had himself taken part in a number of rally and motocross events – surprised everyone with an announcement regarding ZX Moto’s future involvement. In the medium term, the brand is also set to be represented in the World Sportbike and World Superbike Championships – its presence in the top category was already known.

“Our brand, as well as other Chinese manufacturers, are increasingly being recognised as high-quality brands. We are also gaining the trust of both the Chinese and global markets,” emphasised Xue. “Looking ahead, we are aiming for homologation so that we can compete in the World Superbike Championship in 2028. That would be the perfect time for us. We want to become champions in all three categories and be the world’s leading motorbike brand by 2035.”

Regular readers of SPEEDWEEK.com are familiar with ZX Moto’s plans to develop a superbike with a five-cylinder engine, which would be prohibited under the regulations – as of 2026.