CFMoto secures a majority stake in Kalex – The collaboration is primarily intended to bring expertise to production motorcycles – Moto2 remains the main focus
Kalex and CFMoto have agreed to a long-term partnership. The Chinese motorcycle manufacturer has acquired 51 percent of the German company, which is headquartered in Bobingen. Kalex’s successful Moto2 project will continue unchanged.
The partnership emerged from discussions in the MotoGP paddock. CFMoto asked Kalex if they could leverage expertise in lightweight engineering and racing experience to make the production models more sporty.
″Exactly, that’s my job,″ ″The main task is to continue Moto2 as we have done for the past 16 years and ensure continued success.″
“To that end, we’re trying to contribute our expertise and experience to make the motorcycles sportier in their basic design and to apply our know-how regarding stiffness and so on.”
By acquiring 51 percent of the company’s shares, Kalex is also securing the long-term future of the small company. Currently, only eight and a half employees, as Baumgärtel notes, work for the 13-time winner of the Moto2 Constructors’ World Championship.
“Exactly, that’s of course a nice part of the story—being able to leave a certain legacy of our own,” explains Baumgärtel. “We don’t have a family in that sense who could step in or anything like that. It actually worked out to be good timing.”
Formally, everything between Kalex and CFMoto has already been finalized. All legal matters were settled back in December 2025. There are no immediate plans to expand operations in Bobingen or hire more staff.
In the past, Kalex has developed swingarms for KTM’s MotoGP project, among other things, as well as chassis and swingarms for Honda and swingarms for BMW for the Superbike World Championship.
Despite CFMoto’s entry, such contract work from other manufacturers would not be ruled out in the future. “That may still be possible,” says Baumgärtel, “but right now we’re fully utilized with what we have.”
Kalex will equip ten teams, each with two riders, for the 2026 Moto2 season. Triumph will revise the three-cylinder engine in detail for next year, including the mounting points and the airbox. The chassis manufacturer must respond to this and make adjustments.
CFMoto has been a partner of Jorge Martinez’s Aspar team in Moto2 since the 2024 season. Baumgärtel firmly dismisses speculation that Kalex might be given preferential treatment due to the new deal with the Chinese brand.
″I can rule that out, absolutely. We’ve had Aspar as a customer for a long time; we’ve been working together for a long time. That was already the case before CFMoto, and I think we’ve shown over the past few years that we treat everyone fairly and that we’re sportsmen.”
“The goal is to maintain the trust placed in us and to continue supporting the teams with the same fairness as we have up to now. As I said, Moto2 is our main focus, and alongside that, we’re trying to apply our expertise to make their motorcycles more competitive.”
CFMoto has grown rapidly in recent years. In 2025, the Chinese brand sold over 250,000 motorcycles worldwide.