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Benelli, the Italian manufacturer of premium bikes, is set to introduce four more bikes in India including a 250 cc entry segment motorcycle and a 750 cc segment superbike.
Part of Qjian Jiang (QJ) Group of China since 2005, it has had fund infusion from Geely. Benelli, which has a history of biking from the year 1911 has teamed up with Mahavir Group, part of the Adishwar Auto Ride India, as its India partner.
Vikas Jhabakh, Director of Mahavir Group, said that the Benelli operations have grown steadily since the roll out of motorcycles assembled from its manufacturing plant in January 2019. Currently, five models are offered in India assembled at a plant near Hyderabad through the CKD route.
“We plan to roll out at least four more motorcycles during the year, which includes a 250 cc entry level segment motorcycle and a 750 cc superbike. The market for premium motorcycles is growing and buyers tend to ramp up to bigger ones. The market will only get bigger,” he said.
“From a network of about 19 dealers, we plan to take this up to 40 dealers by this year. This will enable us to not only expand footprint but also provide service facilities,” he said.
Following localisation , the company had announced price cuts for at least two of its motorcycles by Rs 60,000 making it more attractive to buyers. “As we expand our facility and launch four more models, we will be able to cater to a much bigger market segment,” he said.
Benelli motorcycles will be pitted in the 250 cc to 750 cc segment.
Current range on offer includes TRK 502 and TRK 502X, TNT 300 and TNT 302 and TNT 600i.
The upcoming models include Leoncino 500 cc Imperiale a 400 cc motorcycle, which will operate in the Bullet and Java segment, Lioncino 250 and TRK 750 range.
Referring to the transition from BS IV norms now to BS VI norms from April 1, 2020, Vikas Jhabakh said that all the motorcycles sold now are BS IV compliant and by March next they will be BS VI compliant and likely to see some price hikes.
The current range is priced from Rs 2.99 lakh to Rs 6.2 lakh, ex-showroom.
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