DSK-Benelli will start accepting bookings for five superbikes from their stable from mid-February. The deliveries will start in the month of March.
Benelli, an Italian motorcycle maker, entered into a partnership with Pune-based DSK Motorwheels in order to sell its range of high performance and mass market superbikes in India. All the bikes were showcased at various places in the past few months to grab potential buyers’ attention. Finally, the company has decided to start accepting bookings for the bikes from mid-February this month. The bikes will be priced between Rs. 3.50 lakhs to Rs. 14 lakhs (ex-showroom). Interested customers can book the bikes at any of the eight exclusive Benelli outlets setup across the country by paying the booking amount. Customers who book now will get their bikes by March.
Benelli has carefully chosen the bikes for our country. The models being launched here are: TNT 300, TNT 600 (I and GT), TNT 899 and TNT 1130R. All the bikes would be brought down via the CKD route and will be assembled at DSK’s facility at Wai near Pune. The TNT 300 and TNT 600’s would be bought down from China whereas the TNT 899 and 1130R would be bought down from Italy. The company has said that their prices would be competitive and that they will be looking at a sizable market share. The Benelli brand has a heritage associated with it as it’s a hundred year old brand.
The bikes Benelli is launching would compete with bikes from established players like Kawasaki and Suzuki in most segments. We believe it would be a really tough fight. Benelli has big plans for India. It plans to have 20 showrooms by the end of the year 2015 and 40 showrooms by the end of 2016. They are confident about selling nearly 3000 bikes this year in India by tapping the rapidly growing demand of superbikes. Currently, the Indian superbike annual sales figures are close to the 10,000 mark which is expected to touch 15,000 by the end of this year. Targeting 20 percent market share in the very first year is a bit optimistic but not something unachievable. With proper sales and service network, they might be able to achieve the target.
