Keeway is currently on a product onslaught in India, we bring you the brand’s upcoming 6 launches
If you are planning to buy the Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 or the Kawasaki Ninja 300 or even the KTM 390 twins, it would be better if you wait for 4 more months as a 300 cc race replica and a street fighter are among upcoming launches from Keeway India.
Remember the heavy inline-4 like sounding Benelli TNT 300 and 302R! It seems they might be back in a new avatar as Benelli’s sister concern from Hungary, Keeway, is going to launch a 300 cc race replica and a street fighter in the next 4 months.
Going by Keeway’s offerings abroad, the street fighter could be based on the MBP M naked and race replica on the RKR sport bike.
Though the new brand was tight-lipped about the specifications of the engine other than the revealed 300 cc displacement, it could, most probably, be the parallel twin engine of the yesteryear Benelli 300s. If so, the great-sounding engine might make a grand re-entry.
But, Keeway might also introduce CFMoto’s 292 cc single cylinder engine as Keeway’s parent company QJ Group is already into sharing CFMoto’s engines. In fact, the single is BS-6 compliant and currently powering the 300 NK in India.
In addition to these 2 launches, Keeway will launch 3 more products in this short time frame. They include 125 and 250 cc retro street motorcycles and a 300 cc cruiser. The retro street motorcycles could be the RVKs sold internationally.
These modern retro commuters have simple profile with an air-cooled engine. They do have body panels through. So far, neither Benelli nor Keeway have a premium retro motorcycle on the likes of the Yamaha XSR or the Kawasaki Z RS.
As far as the 300 cc cruiser is concerned, it could be the Superlite model as it has a mature design language when compared to the now launched K-Lite 250V. It could share its engine with the other 300 cc offerings as another totally different engine wouldn’t help in the economy of scale.
Post the launch of all these 8 products, Keeway is set to launch its first electric vehicle next year.
So far, many Indian EV startups have sprung up in India selling EVs predominantly made of Chinese sourced parts. When QJ Group’s Keeway launches its electric vehicle, it will become the first Chinese company to sell EVs in India.
Reports say the upcoming EV might be Keeway’s recently showcased E-ZI or the Blueshark R1 as their design somewhat feels at home. If launched the EV would compete against Ather 450, Ola S1 Pro, Bajaj Chetak, and TVS iQube among others.