Dafra Motorcycles

Dafra Motos is a Brazilian motorcycle company founded in 2007 by the Itavema Group. It built its early business on a CKD (completely knocked down) model, importing disassembled motorcycles from Chinese manufacturers Loncin, Lifan, and Zongshen and assembling them at its own plant in Manaus, in Brazil's Amazonas state. The Manaus facility grew into a substantial operation, with more than 500 employees and reported annual capacity of around 200,000 motorcycles by 2015. As its original Chinese supply partnerships shifted, Dafra rebuilt its lineup around agreements with other manufacturers, including TVS Motor Company of India, Haojue (which builds Suzuki-branded motorcycles in China), and European brands such as BMW, Ducati, MV Agusta, and KTM, along with Taiwan's SYM. Rather than developing its own engines from scratch, Dafra's business model has centered on local assembly and distribution of motorcycles designed and engineered by these partner companies for the Brazilian market.