Benelli plans to take on Royal Enfield with affordable, 400cc cruiser motorcycle under Rs 2 lakh
The company is considering to introduce 150cc and 250cc scooters for the Indian market.
By ET Bureau |
Agencies
By Bhavya Dilipkumar and Nehal Chaliawala
MUMBAI: Italian motorcycle manufacturer Benelli plans to launch a 400cc cruiser motorcycle, which will be priced below Rs 2 lakh and will rival Royal Enfield and Jawa motorcycles. The company also plans to launch two 250cc engine motorcycles around the same time, but these will be priced upwards of Rs 2.5 lakh, said a top official.
The company is also considering scooters with engine capacities between 150cc and 250cc for the Indian market, but the plans have not been finalised yet, said Vikas Jhabakh, managing director of Benelli India.
The company has sold around 1000 motorcycles in India since resuming sales in January this year, Jhabakh said, and by the end of 2019, the company plans to sell twice that number.
Benelli is a fully-owned subsidiary of China’s Qjian Jiang Group and in India it has a marketing tie-up with Hyderabad’s Mahavir Group. It sells six models in India in the 300cc to 600cc range, which are imported as knocked-down kits and assembled at a facility near Hyderabad.
Benelli India has 19 dealerships across 18 cities in the country and plans to open 15 more by the end of the calendar year. According to Jhabakh, the new dealership will be opened in newer cities to avoid volume cannibalisation at existing dealerships and thus ensuring dealer profitability.
Whether it’s the resounding thump of the Bullet 350 or low-slung cafe racer design of the Continental GT, Royal Enfield has forever had a cult-like following all over the world.
Here we have four such custom-made motorcycles built by Bull City Customs, Inline3, TNT Motorcycles, and Bombay Customs in collaboration with Royal Enfield.
In Pic: Custom Chrome 500 – Bull City Customs
This 500 cc Classic Chrome, is the quintessential old-school bobber. The hard-tailed laid bare frame, ‘bobbed’ rear mudguard and spring loaded single seat hark back to the no-frills 40’s era of board track racing. The chromed-out peanut fuel tank and low slung handle bars clipped on to custom front forks make sure you’re as much at home on the roads as on the drag race track. Bull City Customs have also done away with the stock EFI (electronic-fuel-injection) in favour of the trusty old carburettor, so only you (no micro-chip tells you what to do) decide how fast that twist of the throttle takes you! The bobber also has a chain-oil tank, which protects the chain from dry spells on long rides.
MUMBAI: Italian motorcycle manufacturer Benelli plans to launch a 400cc cruiser motorcycle, which will be priced below Rs 2 lakh and will rival Royal Enfield and Jawa motorcycles. The company also plans to launch two 250cc engine motorcycles around the same time, but these will be priced upwards of Rs 2.5 lakh, said a top official.
The company is also considering scooters with engine capacities between 150cc and 250cc for the Indian market, but the plans have not been finalised yet, said Vikas Jhabakh, managing director of Benelli India.
The company has sold around 1000 motorcycles in India since resuming sales in January this year, Jhabakh said, and by the end of 2019, the company plans to sell twice that number.
Few hours to go. #LegendisBack #BenelliIndia #Benelli https://t.co/CggoRAepWS
— Benelli India (@BenelliIndia) 1564926771000Benelli is a fully-owned subsidiary of China’s Qjian Jiang Group and in India it has a marketing tie-up with Hyderabad’s Mahavir Group. It sells six models in India in the 300cc to 600cc range, which are imported as knocked-down kits and assembled at a facility near Hyderabad.
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The company has an installed capacity of assembling up to 20,000 units annually and it can be expanded up to 40,000 units once demand picks up, Jhabakh said.Benelli India has 19 dealerships across 18 cities in the country and plans to open 15 more by the end of the calendar year. According to Jhabakh, the new dealership will be opened in newer cities to avoid volume cannibalisation at existing dealerships and thus ensuring dealer profitability.
Here we have four such custom-made motorcycles built by Bull City Customs, Inline3, TNT Motorcycles, and Bombay Customs in collaboration with Royal Enfield.
In Pic: Custom Chrome 500 – Bull City Customs
This 500 cc Classic Chrome, is the quintessential old-school bobber. The hard-tailed laid bare frame, ‘bobbed’ rear mudguard and spring loaded single seat hark back to the no-frills 40’s era of board track racing. The chromed-out peanut fuel tank and low slung handle bars clipped on to custom front forks make sure you’re as much at home on the roads as on the drag race track. Bull City Customs have also done away with the stock EFI (electronic-fuel-injection) in favour of the trusty old carburettor, so only you (no micro-chip tells you what to do) decide how fast that twist of the throttle takes you! The bobber also has a chain-oil tank, which protects the chain from dry spells on long rides.
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