UM Motorcycles

UM-Motorcycles (United Motors) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Miami. UM was formed in the early 2000s by Octavio Villegas Llano. The company has a distribution network in 25 nations with 1200 outlets. It also entered the European market during the 2016 Intermot, and its European operations are based out of Porto.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

United Motors Motorcycles
TypeCorporation
IndustryMotorcycle
FounderOctavio Villegas Llano
Headquarters
Miami, Florida
,
United States
Websiteumglobal.com

History

UM Motorcycles has its origins in Colombia, and has been claiming U.S. roots to project a favourable world image.[7] United Motors (UM) was founded in Colombia in 1951, importing and distributing cars, trucks and heavy equipment from the U.S. and Japan into Latin America, primarily in Colombia. Recognizing growing demand for motorcycle products worldwide, UM entered the powersports market in the early '90s by forging agreements with large motorcycle manufacturers in China and Taiwan to introduce those products to the Latin American market. In 1997, UM ventured in to the U.S. (as "Jincheng USA") to distribute products from various manufacturers in China under the UM brand name.[8] In 2005, UM started selling rebadged Hyosung Motorcycles under agreement with S&T Motors. On Feb 1, 2010, UM ceased US operations, and Martin Racing Performance acquired all of UM's remaining assets from banks that held the liens on the company.[9] After closing the U.S. distribution operations, UM continued doing business in Colombia and in other Latin American markets.[10] In 2014, UM announced their entry to India through an Indian subsidiary, UM Motorcycles, marketing themselves as an "American Manufacturer" with origins in the U.S.[11]

Joint Ventures

UM Motors entered the Indian market (which accounts for 78 percentage of the global two-wheeler demand) with a 50:50 joint venture with Lohia Auto. It has invested 100 crores in a plant at Kashipur, Uttarakhand capable of producing 5000 units a month, and is headquartered in New Delhi. The brand retails in India under the UM Lohia brand name and started operations in 2016. The company has rolled out two 280 cc cruiser motorcycles in India – Renegade Commando and Renegade Sport S and currently has 75 dealerships.[1][2][12][13][14]

The UM Lohia venture will also export motorcycles to Nepal, besides other South Asian markets. The current level of localisation is 60 percentage with engines and fuel tanks being imported. Karan Singh Grover is the brand ambassador for the UM Lohia venture.

This venture ended because of poor after sales by the company in India as the spare parts were not good and a case were running in India. All service centers across India have been closed.[15][16][17][18]

Technical Collaborations

In 2016, Runner Automobiles of Bangladesh signed a collaboration agreement with UM to manufacture UM motorcycles in Bangladesh under the name of UM-Runner . The motorcycles will be manufactured at Runner's motorcycle manufacturing facilities at Bhaluka while UM International LLC will provide R&D support in technological & engineering fields as well as global component sourcing. Bangladeshi manufactured UM-Runner motorcycles entered the market in the second quadrant of 2018. As per of the agreement Runner Automobiles in future will produce and export bikes for UM for Nepal and Sri Lanka.[19]

Technology

UM has a range of patented innovative features coupled with its bikes. CASH (Communication Awareness System Helmet) is a technology to connect the helmet to communicate via Bluetooth with the UM Motorcycle. KAS (Keyless Alarm System) is a system to recognise the UM bike owner's presence within 1.2 metres of the bike, and subsequently start the bike without a key. BSM (Blind Spot Mirror System) is a system where the rear view mirrors have a section on the outer corner with a blind spot mirror, allowing the rider to spot vehicles in the blind spot area.[6][20]

References
  1. "Ramping up the production". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 30 November 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  2. "UM Motorcycles hints at plant in Karnataka". Deccan Herald. Archived from the original on 12 November 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  3. "2016 INTERMOT- UM Motorcycles Makes Debut In Europe Market". Zigwheels. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  4. "UM Motorcycles reports 44% global sales growth in Q2 2016". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  5. "Indian Motorcycles Roar Into India". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  6. "American bikemaker UM Global to mark entry into India at Delhi Auto Expo 2014". Autocar. Archived from the original on 21 April 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  7. "UM Motorcycles goes Chinese way, copies KTM Duke design for the UM StreetX 250!". Financial Express.
  8. Aaron Frank (February 23, 2009). "'Hyosung, United Motors, Vento, Kymco, And Zongshen – Who's Who – Asian Invasion'". Motorcyclist.
  9. Press Release (November 2, 2010). "Martin Racing Performance Acquires All United Motors Of America Assets". Roadracing World (magazine).
  10. Press Release (December 3, 2010). "MRP has completed uploading all the United Motors of America repair and part manuals to its website". Motor Sports Newswire (magazine).
  11. "American bikemaker UM Global to mark entry into India at Delhi Auto Expo 2014". Autocar India (magazine). January 22, 2014.
  12. "UM Motorcycles opens 12th dealership in India". The Financial Express. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  13. "UM Motorcycles opens exclusive dealership in Gurugram". India Today. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  14. "Exclusive: UM Motorcycles India to Export Bikes From May 2016". NDTV. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  15. UM to end alliance with Lohia; will relaunch under new entity bikewale.com, June 28, 2019
  16. "UM MOTORCYCLES TO EXPORT TO REGIONAL COUNTRIES, US AND EUROPE". The Pioneer. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  17. "UM Motorcycles Mulls Manufacturing Engines in India". CNN-News18. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  18. "Auto Expo 2016: UM Renegade Commando, Sport Classic and Sport S launched". The Times of India. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  19. UM-Runner Motorcycle Launch In Bangladesh : Event & Product Details bikebd.com, September 28, 2016
  20. "American bikemaker UM Global to enter India at Auto Expo". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 18 November 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
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