Benelli Opens 25th Dealership In India

Benelli has inaugurated a new exclusive showroom for its Benelli range of superbikes in Pune. The new showroom is the third Benelli dealership in the city and 25th for the Benelli brand across the country. Bookings and deliveries are already open at the new showroom, which houses the entire Benelli range of bikes from the 250 cc TNT 25, 300 cc TNT 300, 600 cc TNT 600i, TNT 600 GT, the 898 cc TNT 899 and top-of-the-line 1131 cc TNT R.

"Our main focus is to align Benelli's presence across all strategic locations in order to generate strong brand eminence. Pune is one of those key markets where we have already established a robust foothold. The new dealership will not only act as a platform to sell more motorcycles but also as a place for Benelli superbike enthusiasts to interact with other bikers and share their love for the Italian biking legend," said Shirish Kulkarni, Chairman, Motowheels.

Benelli BN 302R

This year, Benelli plans to introduce two new models in India. The first bike to be launched will be the Benelli BN 302R, which is expected to be launched in May 2017. The next bike from the Benelli stable will be the much-anticipated adventure tourer, the Benelli TRK 502, which was showcased at the 2016 Auto Expo. We expect the TRK 502 to be launched by the fourth quarter of 2017, just around the festive season.

Benelli TRK 502

Benelli started India operations in March 2015 and till December 2016, over 4,100 bikes have been sold in India. In FY2016, Benelli sold 2,700 bikes and this year, the target is to sell 4,500 bikes. One of the most popular Benelli models is the TNT 600i, which is powered by an in-line four cylinder, 600 cc engine. The TNT 600i accounts for a big chunk of Benelli sales in India. So far, over 1200 Benelli TNT 600i bikes have been sold in India.

Motowheels, under which Benelli bikes are sold, plans to increase the dealership footprint to over 40 across India by the end of 2017. Plans are on to increase production capacity as well, to 1,00,000 units by the end of 2017. Benelli offers a four years/unlimited warranty along with unique prepaid service packages for Benelli customers, including 24x7 on call breakdown service. The bike are brought in as Completely Knocked Down (CKD) units and assembled at Benelli's assembly plant in Maharashtra.