A rider of an ATV tries to find the way in a desert. [Bie Jia / For China Daily]

Splashing mud and floating dust, wheels flying over sand dunes in a desert--this is not a car chasing scene in a Hollywood movie, but a group of motorcycle riders conquer the wild desert in the far far west of China.

It is not very accurate to call as “motorcycles”, though. The official names for them are all-terrain vehicles and utility-terrain vehicles, which, from their names, indicate that they can be ridden on different landscapes.

These vehicles are not yet permitted to go on the city road, but they have been gaining increasing popularity among outdoor adventurers. In Dunhuang city, a famous tourist destination in Gansu province, Northwest China, and also a heaven for desert explorers, these small vehicles are constantly seen all along the year with tracks spreading all over the sand dunes.

CFMoto is a motor manufacturer that leads the trend. Located in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, the company has successfully taken over the niche market of outdoor adventurous vehicles overseas. Last year, it exported more than 5,000 units of ATVs and UTVs to Europe and the US, with a market share just behind two marquee names Bombardier from Canada and the Polaris from the US.

Unlike many Chinese automakers that gain the overseas market though low prices, CFMoto has a sticker price almost equivalent of Bombardier and Polaris.

Zhu Xiangyang, general manager of CFMoto, says the company is now well-established in the overseas market, and in the next step, the company is going to shift the focus to the domestic market.

“In overseas markets, especially in Europe and the US, people have the adventure tradition, so it is easier for them to accept the product once they belive it is safe and reliable; but in China, most people still think it is just a four-wheel motorcycle, which in their concept, should be an alternative transportation tool of cars in the city.”

Now, sales of ATVs and UTVs are mostly confined to outdoor adventurers, or professional outdoor riders, the company says.

Li Bin, chairman of China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, motorcycle division, says it is good direction for domestic motorcycle companies to upgrade their product line, as well as to add more value to their products.

Due to historic reasons, now more than 200 cities of all levels restrict motorcycle ridings. Even if a city permits, it usually has a quota for the maximum number of licenses.

In Beijing, for instance, the city with a population of more than 20 million only grants 25,000 licenses in total, and people who want to gain a license have to buy from those who already have one.

While calling for a lift of the ban on motorcycles, Li says companies should also think about the alternative ways to explore the market.

“CFMoto stepped ahead of most other motorcycle companies in term of product innovation,” Li says, adding that it has circumstanced the restrictions in the city while liberated adventurers’ desire to explore the nature.

wangchao@chinadaily.com.cn