MV Agusta to Begin SKD, CKD Assembly in India Soon

MV Agusta India, MD, Ajinkya Firodia says they are working on going from CBU and SKD operations to CKD operation as soon as possible.

By Seshan Vijayraghvan

1 mins read

Published on May 13, 2016

Highlights

MV Agusta plans to commence CKD operations in India soon
Will likely begin CKD production with the MV Agusta F3 800
Till now the company has made an investment of over Rs. 5 Crore

Entering into an exclusive distribution agreement with Italian motorcycle marque, MV Agusta, Kinetic Group recently launched three new motorcycles in India - the F3 800, F4, and Brutale 1090. The bikes have entered the Indian shores as Completely Built Units (CBU) with the F3 800 being the only vehicle taking the Semi Knocked Down (SKD) route. Priced in the range of Rs. 16.78 lakh to Rs. 50.01 lakh (ex-showroom, Pune) the bikes are currently few of the most expensive motorcycles in India. That said, during the official launch, MV Agusta India, Managing Director, Ajinkya Firodia did mention that they are working on going from CBU and SKD operations to completely knocked down (CKD) operation as soon as possible. This is expected to considerably cut down the price making these exotic motorcycles more accessible for Indian enthusiasts. At the event Firodia said that, "We will be marketing these superbikes through our exclusive 'Motoroyale' showrooms. It is a new chain of superbike showrooms, which will make some of the best bikes in the world accessible to motorcycle enthusiasts in India." He mentioned that overall 300 vehicles have been allotted for India this year and the company is already seeing positive response from buyers. He also said, "We want to go from CBU and SKD operations to CKD operations, we cannot do without it." As of now the company is aiming for 10 per cent market share in the Superbike market (above Rs. 10 Lakh) in India and plans to achieve this target in the next three years. Currently the company already has an assembly line in its Ahmednagar plant, where the SKD units of the MV Agusta F3 800 are being assembled. The company will use the same assembly line once it begins its CKD operations. While Firodia did not mention when or with which model are they going start the CKD operations, we believe it will be the F3 800. This is considering 50 per cent of the 300 vehicles assigned for India comprises of the F3 800. Till now the company has made an investment of over Rs. 5 Crore and currently focuses on establishing the brand across India. The company launched its first showroom today in Pune and has announced that five more showrooms will come up across India in cities like, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Mumbai.