This will be the first new bike from Benelli to be introduced in India after it joined hands with the Mahavir Group.
After its break-up with the DSK Group, Benelli India management was taken over by the Mahavir Group from Hyderabad. The alliance is setting up a plant in Telangana, also near Hyderabad for the production of the Benelli bikes. Not only this, the joint venture will also launch the Benelli Leoncino in India next year.
The Benelli Leoncino will be the first new bike that will be launched in India after the joint venture happened. Internationally, the Leoncino comes in a Trail and a Standard trim. But, India will most likely be getting the Standard version that is less off-road capable than the more adventure focussed Trail version. This is probably being done to avoid market sharing between the Leoncino Trail and the TRK 502X which is a proper off-roader.
Powering the Benelli Leoncino is a 499.6cc, twin-cylinder, liquid-cooled, motor that’s mated to a 6-speed gearbox. It produces 46.9 HP at 8500 RPM and 45 Nm of peak torque at 5000 RPM. It looks like a typical Scrambler but gets modern features like LED headlamp and inverted forks on the front suspension. The steel-tube trellis frame should help the bike in keeping the flex under check.
With the new manufacturing plant in Telangana, Benelli will be looking to reduce the costs of its bikes. There are currently only three bikes listed on the company’s India website. These are the Benelli 302R, TNT 600i and TNT 300. The manufacturing plant is spread across an area of 3-acres and will begin its operation in October 2018 . This area will be increased to 20-acres in the future.
The thirty dealerships of Benelli India however, will be coming down to nineteen for the time being. The sales and service network will continue to be there for the existing customers. Future launches apart from the Benelli Leoncino are expected to be the TRK 502X and the Imperiale 400. The company is clearly not looking to leave the Indian market anytime soon.
Benelli Leoncino India Launch
– The bike will be launched in India next year
– It will be produced in Benelli’s Telangana factory
– Other Benelli bikes too will be produced in Telangana
Source – ZigWheels.com
