Rush for superbikes blazes through Tamil Nadu’s tier 2 cities

Retailing bikes under the brand DSK Benelli, the company has so far sold 3,000 bikes in India, since the launch of the brand in March last year. Talking about the action plan for Tamil Nadu, Shirish Kulkarni, Chairman, DSK Motowheels, says, “Since, we began our operations in Tamil Nadu, the brand was able to drive the fastest sale in the state despite having just one showroom in Anna Salai, Chennai. The phenomenal response enabled us to acquire a more confident and aggressive position here. Since then, we have launched one more showroom in Anna Nagar, while we also have one outlet in Coimbatore. The overall sales of DSK Benelli in Tamil Nadu till date is 695 units. Wherein, 523 units have been sold from Chennai specifically. With respect to TN, we are looking at entering the Madurai market soon.” 

On the national level, the company seems to have done quite well in the superbike segment as Shirish tells us, “We have been able to build a loyal base of discerning customers throughout the length and breadth of the country. This has paved the way for sales figure rising to 4,200 units over the last two years. Intensifying our oper- a tions further, our market projection anticipates demand for 6,000 units in the coming fiscal. On the PAN India level, we are going to expand our dealership network from the current 24 showrooms to 35 showrooms by the end of this year.”

As manufacturers of aspirational bikes, DSK Benelli is pinning its hopes, not just on metro cities, but small towns as well. “Demand matching the same for urban geographies has been coming from Tier II, Tier III cities, and in fact, even rural areas. Tier II cities have demonstrated a high degree of enthusiasm for our products. Consumers in these geographies have a high disposable income and the aspirational value attached to our machines is a big attraction. As part of our customer engagement programmes, we conduct club rides for customers on weekly basis, giving them a sense of pride and brotherhood that’s strongly taking shape within the community,” explains Shirish. 

Giving us an idea of the size and evolution of Indian superbike market, Shirish says, “Since inception in 2012, DSK Motowheels has been able to command 30 per cent of the market volume. As compared to before, showrooms receive considerably higher number of footfalls today. The conversion rate has also substantially increased. The current size of the market segment comprising of above 250 cc premium bikes is about 16,000 units. With the country’s net disposable income bound to increase, the superbike market will within a few years graduate to acquire the centre stage in the two-wheeler segment. Going forward, we are all set to launch the 302R, TRK 502, Leoncino and a retro classic bike from the DSK Benelli stable, by the end of 2017.” 

These superbikes are equipped with 135cc to 500cc engines, will be imported from China and assembled at DSK’s CKD plant near Pune. They will be sold under the DSK Benelli brand. The bikes are said to be priced between Rs 1 lakh-5.50 lakh.