Ravi Avalur says he is pleasantly surprised with the response from the Indian market. The Managing Director of Ducati India is speaking about the global two-wheeler major’s “official entry” into India. He claims that demand for its two-wheelers in India has been consistent across the range, starting from ₹6.25 lakh to ₹46 lakh. “We are already revising our sales forecasts,” he says.

It’s only four months since the company set up two dealerships in Mumbai and Delhi — after the Italian giant entered through its own subsidiary in the country. Sales figures are in the triple-digit mark, according to people in the know. The company is unwilling to disclose its India-specific sales numbers. Those numbers might not be too large in a country that sold a little over 1.6 crore two-wheelers in 2014-15. But till as recently as six years ago, the super premium bike segment recorded sales of a mere 1,000 units every year.

Hence, in the super premium bike segment that Ducati and its rivals such as Harley Davidson, Benelli, Triumph, BMW and Kawasaki belong to, these statistics signify a decent beginning. In the entire year of 2014-15, this category (where the starting price point is ₹4.5 lakh going all the way up to ₹51 lakh) clocked sales of around 7,500 units. That is a remarkable improvement, Avalur points out.

The other encouraging sign for global bike makers is that while the market for high-end bikes is declining in the West, it’s growing in markets like Asia-Pacific. So much that Ducati set up a production facility in Thailand for its Diavel, Hypermotard, Monster, Multistrada and Superbike (899) and the Scrambler in end-2014.

Getting deliveries in order Still, while the Ducati brand might be a huge draw for bike enthusiasts, the company has a formidable task of exorcising the ghosts of its recent past in India. The brand was available through an importer, Precision Motors, in India, till 2013. The tie-up misfired as many buyers took to social media to vent their ire — complaining of everything from lack of service and spares, to non-delivery of vehicles after payments were made. In the super-premium category, that too in a closely-knit community like super bikes, word spreads faster than fire. So how does Ducati India plan to clear up the old baggage?

Avalur says that he can only comment on things that are within his control. “The direct presence of Ducati in India is in itself a very strong statement,” he says. For instance, the Delhi showroom is one of the largest Ducati showrooms in the world, which comes with the service centre attached and can be seen as a show of Ducati’s commitment towards the Indian market. Avalur adds, “We will ensure the right level of service to all Ducati owners irrespective of what channel they bought the bike from.”

Treating everyone alike will be critical to the brand’s future in India, say industry experts. “Ducati has to ensure that it gets a positive feedback from newer customers, while simultaneously handling the woes of customers who bought bikes from the importer,” says one industry expert. That’s easier said than done, because top-end buyers (in both bikes and cars) are a finicky lot.

While they don’t mind paying top dollar to buy the best bike, they can be unreasonable with their expectations in service levels.

To get its second coming (which the company calls its “official entry”) in India right, Ducati is focusing on getting its deliveries in order. The company intends to ensure that delivery time does not exceed two months — irrespective of whether the bike is imported from Thailand or Italy. Second, even among premium bike buyers, it’s targeting the middle and upper tier.

While brands like Harley have bikes that start from ₹4.3 lakh upwards to expand the category, the starting price for a Ducati bike is ₹6.45 lakh (ex-showroom) similar to what others such as Triumph are doing.

“We are not the first to enter India, but we are not late,” says Avalur, adding that the company will be present in Bangalore, Pune and Hyderabad by the end of the year and expand its presence to eight more Indian cities by end-2016.

Then while super-bikers might not be taking their bikes to work (barring a few exceptions), the company plans to engage with the closely-knit super-biking community, by launching its global training programme for basic, intermediate and professional riders within the course of this year.

Hopefully, there will be no looking back from now on — both for the company and its customers.

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