Benelli To Introduce More Variants Of The Imperiale 400 In India

The move will help the brand lock horns with home-grown manufacturer Royal Enfield

Italian motorcycle manufacturer Benelli recently launched the much-awaited Imperiale 400 in India to take on the Royal Enfield Classic 350. But, there’s more to it. Vikas Jhabakh, Managing Director of Benelli India, revealed that the company will be working on a couple of iterations of the Benelli Imperiale 400 with different displacements.

Also Read: Benelli Imperiale 400: Everything You Need To Know 

From the looks of it, the brand may be planning on taking the fight to the Bullet 350 and 500cc range as well. The company is also exploring the idea of exporting the cruiser with different specifications to meet market requirements. This is Benelli’s future vision. At present, the manufacturer’s R&D department is working on 5 to 6 new products, some of which may be introduced in the Indian market based on response. 

This comes in light of the company's plans to ramp up production to 20,000 units annually and grab a sizable chunk of the premium motorcycle segment. This number will be further increased to 40,000 units annually if Benelli deems fit. To amplify its reach, the bike maker will be looking at expanding its sales network with around 80-100 outlets by 2020-end. 

Major cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad and Chennai will get a second or even a third dealership while in cities such Vijayawada, Vizag and Kolhapur it will be restricted to one. Currently, 60 per cent of Benelli’s dealership is in the south, but going forward, it intends to expand its presence in the north, west, and east.