Benelli To Add 40 New Dealerships In India By The End Of 2019

Benelli India is back and this time its new partners want to capture the premium end of the motorcycle market with full force. The Italian brand partnered with Adishwar Auto Ride India, its former dealer turned partner, which is now at the helm of operations in the country. On the sidelines of the TRK 502 launch recently, Benelli confirmed its expansion plans for India that will see the manufacturer bring five new bikes this year, while it plans to expand its dealer presence to over 40 outlets by the end of 2019. Having revived operations in August last year, the company currently has 12 dealerships operational across the country.

Speaking to carandbike, Benelli India - Managing Director, Vikas Jhabakh said, "The Benelli business had come to a halt in the middle with few dealers opting to move out of the business and that's understandable. You can't really blame anyone there. But we are lucky we have 12 running operational dealerships right now and they were all here for the launch and they are showing a lot of faith still the brand and the vision and we are thankful and lucky to have them on board."

The Benelli Leoncino is the next launch from the bike maker in India

Adding further, Vikas said, "We have been working very hard and we are looking to launch about 10 new dealerships through March and April and by the end of 2019 we are looking to have closer to 40 outlets across the country. And the best thing about this is we are looking to be geographically spread out. So we will be in close to 35 different cities with 40 dealerships."

The Italian bike maker wants to establish its presence in key locations geographically, which will ensure that customers have an accessible touchpoint at all times. The company is also scouting for locations where it has an existing customer base to reach out to current owners as well. Having originally launched operations in India in 2014, the manufacturer says it presently has over 6000 owners across the country. Benelli India plans to have an exciting year going forward with as many as five launches in the works.

The company has already confirmed its next launch to be the much-awaited Leoncino motorcycle, which is expected to arrive around April this year, while other motorcycles expected to join the line-up are the Imperiale 400 and the 502C urban cruiser. Benelli India has set-up a new manufacturing facility outside Hyderabad for the local assembly of the motorcycles. The company has a production capacity of 7000 units annually at the plant, which can be expanded to about 10,000 units based on the demand.