“Benelli 750cc will give Ducati a run for its money” said Shirish Kulkarni, chairman, DSK Motowheels exclusively to BikeWale. We caught up with the man who is responsible for changing the premium bike industry in the country with the Benelli bikes. Our exclusive interview with him reveals his 2017 product launch and expansion plans.
BikeWale: It has been 31 months since your debut in India. How has the journey been so far?
Shirish Kulkarni: It’s been excellent. Time has flown by but it still feels like it’s just been a year or so. As a brand we’ve been able to establish ourselves really well and moving forward we will continue to grow since we’ve a lot of products in the pipeline. But yes, the market has accepted us really well. We always wanted to maintain the image of Benelli as a premium brand just the way it is globally. I’m glad that my team has been able to achieve this.
BW: Where will the next cycle of growth come from and which segments, in your opinion, are likely to grow?
SK: I think everything is moving upwards in terms of displacement. Everyone wants higher displacement motorcycles which looks nice but at the same time, they have to be affordable. So at least in the case of superbikes, I wouldn’t like it if some manufacturers in this segment set up the production process in India itself. It would be unfair for us and it certainly won’t be a level playing ground as we can’t compete with the pricing. But we can definitely compete in brand value and to a large extent, we can do better on quality as well. The segment that will be growing is the 200cc to 600cc one. But I think the 200cc to 400cc segment is the one where most of the manufacturers will be positioning themselves with various products. There will be street bikes, super sport bikes and you can also expect many manufacturers, including us, to bring in adventure bikes with 300-400cc power. We’re also thinking of a 300-400cc product with off-road capability.
BW: Will riding clubs prosper?
SK: A large number of riders prefer to go with a select group of riders but for someone who is new, or someone who has picked up his first 300cc or 600cc Benelli; he doesn’t really know many people around like him and he doesn’t have close friends who own such motorcycles. So that’s where the groups formed by our dealerships are beneficial to them. In fact, some of them have bought motorcycles after looking at these groups. Royal Enfield has been able to do this very well - not an initiative by the company, but by the owners themselves. Moving forward, these groups will be very important. As more groups get formed by customers themselves, they will play a crucial role in helping the industry grow. So as a manufacturer, we should support such groups as much as we can.
BW: By the end of 2017, how many more showrooms do you plan to open and where?
SK: We plan to up the total showroom count to 43 by the end of 2017. We will begin from next month and will go really aggressive with the expansion plans. We want to have 45 showrooms by the end of the year, but the realistic figure is 43 for now. This aggressive expansion plan is simple. If we want to get the numbers, we need to have as many showrooms as we can. Without this, it is quite difficult to grow the way we want to. Some of these showrooms will come up in metros where we already have Benelli showrooms and the rest in new cities. North East is one market we’ve been looking to expand to and we will do it with a showroom in Guwahati.
BW: The launch of Tornado 302R has been delayed more than once. What happened?
SK: The delay happened primarily for two reasons – BS-IV and ABS. We had a BS-III model ready In January, but we decided to wait for a bit and launch the BS-IV variant directly. I insisted on the BS-IV and ABS model only for the Indian market. When we launched Benelli in India almost 2 years ago, many customers asked us why we didn’t equip the motorcycles with this safety technology. But the motorcycle is ready now and we will launch it in mid-June.
In terms of pricing, the Tornado 302R won’t be cheaper than its competitors. The bike has several premium features and that demands premium pricing. This fully-faired bike will be more expensive than the TNT 300 but I think in terms of competition, we might be able to hit a sweet spot.
BW: The TRK 502 has been the most awaited Benelli launch in India. How do you plan to position this motorcycle?
SK: We will launch the TRK 502 early next year. The version that is ready right now is non-ABS and alloy wheels with road tyres. We cannot launch an adventure bike in India with these specifications as the market won’t accept an adventure bike with road-biased specs. So we decided to wait a bit and bring the ABS and spoked-wheels with off-road tyres version only. I’m trying to get the bike in by December 2017, but as of now, the launch will happen only in January or February.
BW: The Leoncino was lauded for its design when it was unveiled at 2015 EICMA. Do you think you will be able to convince the Indian buyers to go for this over the Ducati Scrambler?
SK: The Leoncino is ready. The homologation process will start in a month or two. Typically the homologation process takes about 3-4 months. So we can expect the Leoncino to hit the market anytime between September and November this year. This bike will be positioned as a street bike and not as an off-roader. So it would come with alloy wheels and road tyres. But if there is market demand, then we might look at bringing the off-road version as well. We’re also looking to price the Leoncino quite aggressively, between Rs 4 lakh and Rs 4.5 lakh (ex-showroom). But this might change due to inflation and other uncontrollable situations.
BW: Do you think there's a market for the TNT 135 in India?
SK: The TNT 135 is not happening. We did market research and many people loved the product, especially the North Eastern market. The consumers found the engine capacity, the cycle parts and the overall design quite appealing. But when it comes to the price point, the product isn't quite there yet. People started comparing it to the Honda Navi and it is not possible to launch this product at that price. Even if the TNT 135 is made in India, it is very difficult to price it aggressively. So we decided to shelve the TNT 135’s India launch plans.
BW: What about the new Benelli 750cc naked bike?
SK: One thing I can tell you and the readers is that this is going to be a fantastic bike. I think it will give Ducati a run for its money. But it will take time to come, say, another year or so. The final production model could be unveiled at the 2017 EICMA.
BW: You said Benelli is also looking at a product in the 300cc-400cc segment with off-road capability. Can you tell us more about it?
SK: It’s too early to talk about it right now but all I can say is that a 300cc adventure motorcycle is a possibility from Benelli. Expect the same 300cc motor from the current line-up, but the rest, the chassis, suspension, brakes and clocks will be all new. Benelli is waiting for the TRK 502 to roll out in most of the markets. Depending on the success of this bike, Benelli will accelerate the development process of this motorcycle.
BW: There's very little action happening with Hyosung. The GD250, GD450, GV300 - all were India-bound but still not launched.
SK: The new GV250 is ready and will be launched soon. Other than that, there isn’t much happening with Hyosung this year. Next year, we will look at the GD450 – the naked bike. Its smaller sibling, the GD250, is ready with us, but we aren’t launching it right now because of pricing.
