The KTM Duke 390 has gone from pocket-rocket to expensive!
The KTM Duke 390 was the most value for money performance motorcycle you could buy till Royal Enfield launched its 650 Twins. The arrival of the Interceptor 650 at a rather mouth watering price seems to have affected the sales of the flagship KTM motorcycle in India with only 106 units (including RC 390) sold last month. In comparison, KTM sold 340 units of the Duke 390 in the same month in 2017.
Sales have been dropping for the KTM Duke 390 since quite some time now with November numbers being 239 units in comparison to 430 units in November 2017. That said, 106 units is the lowest sales for the Duke 390 in the past 2 years with January 2017 being the next lowest for the orange rocket with 182 units (this was the first generation model).
Now many of you will comment BMW G 310 R and TVS Apache RR 310 effect but those bikes aren’t selling in big numbers either. KTM prospects moving towards Royal Enfield could be one possibility as the British brand sold 629 units of the 650 Twins in the month of December. Kawasaki too could be pulling Duke 390 prospects to its showrooms with the localised Ninja 300 which has got a drastic price cut for its spare parts.
However, we at MotorBeam think the escalating price of the KTM Duke 390 is to be blamed as it seems to have lost its value for money price tag. When the Duke 390 was launched in 2013, it was priced at Rs. 2.04 lakhs. With the second generation model, there was a significant price increase but the big bummer seems to be the new insurance rule. Today, the Duke 390 costs a whooping Rs. 2.95 lakhs. In comparison the twin-cylinder Interceptor is priced at Rs. 3.02 lakhs (all prices on-road, Mumbai).
Meanwhile, there is still reason to rejoice for Orange fans as the Duke 125 managed to sell 2414 units in December, becoming KTM’s top selling model in India in its maiden month of sales. The Duke 200 was KTM’s best-seller earlier, as it was their entry-level model, it sold 925 units (including RC 200) in December 2018. In the same month, the Duke 250 sold 135 units while the Honda CBR250R sold 100 units. Bajaj sold just 24 units of the Dominar 400 in the same period with sales down due to the upcoming update of the motorcycle being around the corner.
KTM Duke 390 Sales
– Sales of the Duke 390 have fallen by 69%
– Sales of similar priced motorcycles are better
– TVS sold 185 units of the Apache RR 310 in December
– Kawasaki sold 220 units of the Ninja 300 last month
