What makes UM who it is today wouldn’t be possible without knowing where UM has been.  Their colorful history reaches back more than 55 years to 1951.  That’s three generations of experience in the automotive and motorcycle manufacturing/transportation industries. 

This experience is strongly enhanced by a tight family unit, the Villegas family, who has remained involved in all aspects of the business starting with the grandfather, his son, and now the grandsons, Juan, Ana, Jose and Diego. 

Throughout the years, the Villegas family has experienced many milestones: They acquired sole distribution in some Latin American countries as well as the American territories for Toyota, Nissan, John Deere and the General Motors’ line of diesel trucks. They also established assembly plants for Fruehauf trailers in 1966 and became the largest trailer manufacturer in South America.

In 1992, Juan Villegas, the oldest grandson, began traveling to Asia (Taiwan & China) searching for powersports products to introduce to America. The motorcycle market worldwide had been in constant growth for decades and the Villegas family saw a great opportunity to complement the market with more affordable products.  At that time, there were few motorcycles from China being sold in the American Continent. The traditional Japanese and European brands had been controlling the market for decades and the opportunity to complement them was immense. Cooperation and manufacturing agreements were signed with the biggest motorcycle manufacturers in China and Taiwan and the products were first introduced in Latin America in 1994.

In 1997, the Villegas family took advantage of the opportunities they saw in North America and began to penetrate the US market with a completely new line of powersports products under the UM trademark.  They decided to change the name from United Motors to UM because it is shorter and more consumer friendly.  They quickly established themselves as a North American brand with all the design, support and services based in the U.S. (Miami) and with manufacturing facilities in Asia.  Working with these manufacturers, UM designs, engineers and specs the products for each market.  UM selects components and tests the products intensely before introduction: All of the off-road products undergo 250 hours of rigorous trials and all on-road products are driven for more than 20,000 miles.

In 2005, UM signed an agreement with one of Korea’s largest powersports manufacturer and completed its product line with the addition of a line of street bikes with larger displacement engines (650 cc) thus expanding UM’s lineup of engine choices for street bikes from 250 to 650cc and upcoming products with a 450cc liquid cooled engine. The result was that UM became the first full line manufacturer in the powersports industry in almost 30 years and are now celebrating their 10^th anniversary. Today, UM offers Street, Dual Sport & Off Road Motorcycles, Scooters and ATV’s in displacements from 49cc to 650cc, combining a variety of models for every industry market segment and powersports enthusiast.

The UM concept was born under a number of very powerful principles, which the company is committed to adhering to, always.  These include but are not limited to:

• Affordability- Giving the consumer a quality product for a fair price.  No matter how great your product is, if nobody can afford it, it’s not worth very much.
• Quality- Once people can afford the product, if it doesn’t withstand the rigors of use, how affordable is it?
• Value- What does your money really buy?  If the product lives up to the consumer’s expectations, and stays that way for years to come, that’s value!
• Cutting-Edge Design- Not only must it look good, it should also function with ease.
• Warranty protection- Regardless of the consumers’ opinion, if the company doesn’t believe in it, who will?  UM has the best warranty in the powersports industry.
• Consumer Finance- Not everyone has the liquidity to pay cash, but they can make small monthly payments.  UM makes it possible for the consumer to do so in a simple and affordable manner with the UM Card.
• Serious Fun- Isn’t that why we ride in the first place?

The UM Company currently boasts more than 600 full line UM Dealerships and 17 Distributors throughout the world, including three distribution centers in North America.  This successful and extensive distribution network was achieved through extraordinary attention to Dealer needs for service and supply as well as consumer needs for exciting product at the right price points.  All of this is in place in North America and is helping an expanding network of dedicated UM Dealers to offer select models designed specifically for the North American market.

In addition to UM’s well stocked and efficient parts department, their large corporate facility features a technical support center with high-technology testing equipment, all managed by a team of professionals with extensive experience in the industry. This Florida-based center, as well as the UM management team, is supported by subsidiary companies and R&D centers located South America, Korea, and other locations throughout Asia.    All of this allows UM to design all of its cutting edge products and be involved in every step of the production process.  UM also supports a complete quality assurance, engineering staff, production controls and R&D group throughout North America, South America and Asia.

UM is committed to the environment and the community.  All of their products are EPA and CARB certified as well as DOT compliant; the off-road products are certified by the state of California as green-sticker, which allows them to be ridden during any time of the year. UM is also involved in a number of charitable programs through its UM Dealer network, including Easter Seals.  Furthermore, UM is a voting member of the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) which is a not-for-profit, national trade association created to promote and preserve motorcycling and the U.S.

The UM Mission:   To offer high-quality and seriously fun recreational and transportation products with a modern design at affordable prices, backed by the industry’s best warranty and an excellent after-sale service.

The UM Vision: To become one of the most recognized brands in the motorcycle and recreational industry by establishing a reasonable number of successful UM Dealers throughout North America and by exceeding all standards in quality, service and support.

Together, we are UM. Start Riding.