The company is looking to introduce the bike in India by the end of 2018 or early 2019.
Benelli won’t just be introducing motorcycles in India, it will be showering them. The new found enthusiasm seems to be coming on the back of their new alliance partner in India, the Mahavir Group. Benelli has already confirmed that it will be introducing twelve new bikes in India by 2019 and the 302S will be one among them.
The Benelli 302S looks more like an entry level street fighter that will take on the KTM Duke 390. It is actually an upgrade of the Benelli TNT 300 which looks kind of pale infront of the 302S. The 302S will borrow its engine from the Benelli 302R that is also on sale in India. This is a 300cc, parallel-twin motor that is capable of producing 38.26 HP at 11,500 RPM and 27.4 Nm of peak torque at 9000 RPM.
Feature wise, the Benelli 302S gets a fully-digital, uniquely shaped instrument cluster just like its LED headlight. The headlight can even be called as a derivative of the unit found on the KTM Duke 390. Other features include twin-disc brakes at the front and a single disc brake at the rear. Suspension duties will be performed by 41 mm upside-down forks at the front and a monoshock at the rear. A dual-channel ABS will also come as standard.
Benelli India, in alliance with the Mahavir Group is also setting up a plant in Telangana near Hyderabad that will start production by October 2018. The bikes will be assembled here as completely knocked down units (CKD) and help the company price its bikes aggressively. We expect the Benelli 302S to be priced around the Rs. 3 lakhs mark which is similar to the Kawasaki Ninja 300’s price.
The list of the twelve new bikes from Benelli in India seems to be unfolding really soon. The company will first launch its Leoncino 500 and TRK 500 models by the end of 2018. These are now expected to be followed by the Benelli 302S after which the Imperiale 400 and 530 will be introduced. Benelli Leoncino 250 and the TRK 250 too will be introduced in India but they will come by March 2020.
Benelli 302S India Launch
– The company wants to introduce it before the end of 2018 but might push it to the start of 2019
– It is powered by a 300cc engine which is borrowed from the Benelli 302R
– It has no direct competitors but the KTM Duke 390 can be called one
Source – AutocarIndia.com