Chatting with Vikas Jhabak, MD of Benelli India, and George Wang, board director of Benelli Motorcycles, we discovered that localisation is definitely on the table. While there still may be some time before we see a localised Benelli manufactured in Telangana, the company reveals that it is considering some domestically manufactured spare parts within a year’s time. Which models will start to get the first localised spares depends on which models are doing well in our market. So it will be safe to assume that the 300cc range might be localised first to reduce prices.Going forward, Benelli recognises that strong R&D is vital and the company intends to have more focus towards an R&D department in India this time around. Localised products are already under discussion and the company is considering the benefits of making more in India
The company already has 18 dealerships inherited from DSK-Benelli who have agreed to continue with the brand. It is aggressively pursuing more dealers and has ambitious plans to add up to 20 dealers every year for the next two years. That’s quite telling of Benelli’s ambitions for our market, and its planned product line-up that you’ll read about below highlights this.
Production capacity at the new assembly plant is set at 7,000 units per year in a single shift and can be scaled up to 10,000 units per year. The company also reveals that it is already considering a much larger ‘phase two’ which will include more localisation of parts, local manufacture, export and, eventually, maybe even products developed specifically for our market. As for the timeline, the company says it will depend on how fast the demand grows here but admits that this won't be in the near future.
For starters, the naked TNT 300 will soon be replaced by the TNT 302S. This is an updated and more stylish version of the TNT 300 that first debuted at EICMA 2017. While the styling of the motorcycle is different, the trellis frame will continue as will the 38hp, parallel-twin cylinder engine. Benelli isn’t bringing the 302S over immediately as it is very keen to begin restocking dealerships that have remained empty for months now. Benelli India is keen to bring the updated 302S to our market as quickly as possible, perhaps even before the end of 2018.
The bigger and more exciting news is that Benelli is readying both the new Leoncino and the TRK 502 for sale in India by the end of this financial year.
Benelli is quite excited by the prospect of these machines in India and surprised us by revealing that the Leoncino and the TRK 502 will come in two variants each. The Leoncino will be offered in standard trim and the more off-road focused Leoncino Trail with spoke wheels and knobby tyres. The TRK will be available as the standard 502 and the more off-road ready 502X. These bikes are doing quite well internationally and the company has proudly revealed that they both featured in the top ten sellers in Italy for July (this is probably a list of bikes of a similar capacity/price).
The Royal Enfield-rivalling Imperiale 400 is also on the cards for 2019 and it will be the most affordable Benelli when it goes on sale.
To take on the Royal Enfield Classic 500, Benelli will be launching the Imperiale 530 by end of 2019 as well.
Benelli also has plans to bring its 250cc range to India by late 2019. The Italian brand announced that it will be launching the Leoncino 250 and the TRK 250 in our market. Both the motorcycles are powered by a 249cc, single-cylinder motor producing 25.8hp and 21.2Nm of peak torque.
As for the TNT 600GT, the company believes that the demand for that product will be absorbed by the TRK 502.
If you discount last year, where the company didn’t sell much, Benelli was doing quite well in India. The company says it had a 21 percent market share when you look at the segment occupied by the brands it likes to call rivals – Kawasaki, Harley-Davidson, and Triumph. With the above plans in place, the company would like to raise that figure to 30 percent by 2021.
As for existing customers, the company promises to offer complete support and has already sent the first batch of spare parts to showrooms. Going forward, Benelli is eager to improve its customer engagement and experience, and you can look forward to more organised efforts in terms of riding clubs, experiential events and improving the experience at dealerships, especially from an aftersales, social gathering point of view.
One thing is certain – Benelli is coming back strong and is making a more coordinated effort towards our market this time around.