The Irbit Motorcycle Plant (Ural brand) is launching a new sidecar motorcycle, the Ural Neo 500, in the US market. The first batches will arrive at dealerships in September 2026, company representatives said. The price will be around 15 thousand dollars (almost 1.2 million rubles), with an additional 1250 dollars for delivery to the dealership.

The new model radically differs from the classic Urals with an opposed engine, which have been produced in Irbit since the 1940s. The Ural Neo 500 is equipped with a Zonsen inline two-cylinder engine with a displacement of 446 cc and a power of 35 hp — this is a liquid-cooled unit that is installed on many Chinese motorcycles. The dry weight of the new product is 334 kg, which is lighter than the classic Ural Gear Up.

The motorcycle is fully assembled in China at the facilities of Yingang, with which IMZ concluded a production agreement. The decision to transfer assembly was due to sanctions, logistics problems, and the loss of key markets after 2022. The share of imported components in classic Urals exceeded 70%, and the introduction of import duties from Kazakhstan, where assembly was temporarily moved, made exports to the USA unprofitable.

The Ural Neo 500 is not a modernization of an old model, but a new product: a Chinese platform under a Russian brand with a modern design, TFT display, LED optics, and a built-in dashcam. Engineers from the Irbit plant refined the motorcycle for about a year: they strengthened the fork, brake assemblies, revised engine and clutch settings, and added a hydraulic steering damper.