Italian superbike manufacturer Benelli is all set to take on the dominance of Royal Enfield Classic 350, Thunderbird 350, Jawa Standard, Bajaj Dominar 400, KTM 390 Duke, with their latest launch of Imperiale 400 in India. The company has aggressively priced its retro cruiser at Rs 1.69 lakh (ex-showroom).
Powered by a 374cc air-cooled BS-IV engine, the bike is capable of delivering a maximum power of 21 HP at 5,500 rpm. Of the three colours available, the black and red coloured bike are priced Rs 10,000 higher than the silver variant.
A fully-owned subsidiary of China’s Qjian Jiang Group, Benelli is bullish on Indian market. Vikas Jhabakh, managing director of Benelli India, reveals that Imperiale 400 has been conceived and specifically designed keeping in mind the Indian market but the company might explore the opportunity of exporting it in other markets with some specification changes in future.
"We are betting big on the segment, with the launch of the Imperiale 400 and are confident of capturing a significant market share with a number of dealership launches set to take place, to ensure that our services and the Imperiale 400 is within reach for every rider out there," Benelli India Managing Director Vikas Jhabakh said.
On the R&D front, the company working on 5-6 different products right now. "Of these, how many we will bring to India will be based on the market feedback for different products," Jhabhak added. With a market size of 45,000-50,000 units per month, the segment has players.
Currently imported as completely knocked-down (CKD) unit, Imperiale is available at 26 dealers across the country sold through marketing tie-up with Hydrabad’s Mahavir Group. Customers can book the Benelli Imperiale 400 with a down payment of Rs 4,000, by visiting the company’s website india.benelli.com or by visiting the nearest Benelli India dealership, the company said.
Apart from offering three-year unlimited kilometer warranty as standard, the company said Imperiale 400 is introduced with complimentary service for the first 2-years. It has also also introduced an annual maintenance contract for the Imperiale 400 which can be availed after the completion of the first two years.