Benelli currently has just one model in its entire portfolio in the Indian market. The brand only updated the Benelli Imperiale 400, a modern classic motorcycle that competes with the Royal Enfield 350 series motorcycles as well as the Jawa range and the newly launched Honda H’ness CB350. Now, a new report suggests that the brand will be launching an all-out offensive for the Indian market by introducing at least one motorcycle every month from January 2021 till August 2021.
It is speculated that the brand is going to update its portfolio with these new motorcycles. Some of them could also be all-new for the Indian market while others will receive BS6 emission updates to the engine. Furthermore, the brand is also expected to add more dealerships in the Indian market taking the count to 50 from the current 34. The dealerships are also likely to be added in the same format with around two dealership additions per month. The new dealerships will also target Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
With the revamped product portfolio the brand is also expected to scale up its production capacity in the Indian market from the current capacity of 7,000 units per annum to 30,000 units per annum. Even with the 30,000 units per year capacity, Benelli is dwarfed by Royal Enfield which sells more than 50,000 units a month. The Chinese-owned Italian brand sold around 1,500 units through its dealerships and despite the lockdown the brand recorded sales of close to 3,500 units till October.
The brand has also announced a discount of INR 12,000, on the Red and Black colour theme of the Benelli Imperiale 400 during the festive season which is likely to have boosted sales for the model. The Imperiale 400 is powered by a BS6 emission-compliant 374cc air-cooled single-cylinder, four-stroke 4-valve SOHC engine with fuel injection that produces 21 PS of power and 29 Nm of torque matched to a 5-speed gearbox and wet multi-plate clutch. The brand has also rolled out new finance options with Low EMI schemes and funding up to 85% to lure in customers.
