Benelli aims to sell 3,000 bikes in India

Italian superbike brand Benelli, which is selling its products with Pune-based DSK Motowheels in the country, targets to sell around 3,000 units in 2015-16.

"We are hoping to sell 3,000 super bikes. All these are CKD (completely knocked down) units," DSK Motowheels Chairman Shirish Kulkarni said while launching the first outlet in Chennai.

And DSK Benelli hopes the entry level TNT 300 and the 600cc middleweight TNT 600i and the TNT 600GT will form the bulk of those numbers in India. The TNT 300 is Benelli’s cheapest offering in India and priced at Rs 2.83 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The 600cc twins – TNT 600i and TNT 600GT – will carry sticker prices of Rs 5.15 lakh and Rs 5.62 lakh respectively. At that price, the TNT 600i is the most affordable in-line 4 cylinder motorcycle on sale in India now.

Benelli, though of Italian origin, is Chinese owned and China is a major market for the brand.

"In China, we sell about 20,000 units. We have a major share there. We also sell in Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia. Now we are entering India with DSK", said George Wang, Benelli Board-Director.

And DSK Benelli is betting big on the Indian market. The company currently has four outlets across the country and is planning to add five more, taking the total to nine by the end of this month.

The company unveiled five motor cycles with the launch in India – ranging from the TNT 300 to the top end TNT 1130R priced at Rs 12.02 lakh (ex-showroom Chennai). Three more bikes are expected to be added to Benelli’s product line-up in India by the end of the year. Nearly 200 bookings have already been received since the bikes were officially launched last week.