Benelli parted ways with their old partner DSK Motowheels and is now working with Adishwar Auto Ride India, part of the Mahavir Group. The Benelli brand is back on track with new bike launches with the new partner, and since, have launched the TRK 502 adventure tourer model and the recently introduced Leoncino 500 scrambler-style motorcycle.
Benelli has now scraped the idea of setting up a manufacturing facility here in India. They will continue with the plant in Hyderabad to locally assemble motorcycles via the CKD kits and will ramp up this capacity to 40,000 units / year eventually. However, just like every other manufacturer in the country, even Benelli is considering an EV in the tw0-wheeler space.
Benelli wants to launch a mass market electric-two-wheeler in India in the next 2 years. So expect prototypes to be revealed in due course of time and launch somewhere around 2021-22. Considering the push that the government is giving to EVs in India with reduction in GST, Benelli also wants to offer eco-friendly electric mobility in India.
At the moment, Benelli has 300cc – 600cc motorcycles on offer in our market, but never have they shown any electric model for our market. It will be interesting to see how a performance bike brand will venture in the electric two-wheeler space. Current motorcycles range between INR 3 lakh – INR 6.2 lakh on their ex-showroom price tags. With the electric models, pricing could possibly start as low as INR 1 lakh. But that is still not very MASS MARKET. Benelli already has electric scooters in other parts of the world, which could be brought to India.
Benelli reveals that by 2020, their product line-up will include models starting from INR 2 lakh onwards.