Italian 2-wheeler Ducati forays into India

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Wednesday, May 07, 2008 at 1640 hrs Eying a big potential for luxury bikes in India, where tastes are changing from mass-market machines to high-end bikes, Italy's Ducati Motor Holding on Tuesday announced entry into the country with its full range of premium bikes, priced between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 50 lakh.

"We are very impressed with evolution of the Indian market. It is no longer an emerging market, but a strong economy. I am very proud to officially announce our entry in the Indian market," Ducati Motor Holding CEO Gabriele Del Torchio said in New Delhi.

The company has entered India with the objective to be a market leader in the premium segment, he added.

He, however, refused to give any specific volume or revenue target for the company.

"We will be importing 50 bikes this year. If we will be able to sell these (50 units) in the current year, then it will be more than enough," Torchio said.

Besides, the company is also exploring possibilities for considerably increasing its component sourcing from the Indian market.

"We are currently sourcing engine parts and other key components from here. We plan to increase it considerably and holding discussions to five different players," Torchio said without divulging details.

A group of engineers from the company's facility would be visiting India next week to finalise the sourcing partners here, he added.

The company currently sources auto components to its only manufacturing facility in Italy worth 50 million euro from all over the world, of which India accounts for less than five million euro.

The Italian racing bike manufacturer today introduced four different models in multiple variants, which would be available in the range of Rs 15 lakh to Rs 50 lakh, said Ashish Chordia, Chief Executive Officer of Precision Motor India Pvt Ltd, the sole distributor of Ducati bikes in India.

"We are not introducing 'Monster 696' model, which is currently going through homologation here. After the due processes get over, we will launch this model also," he added.

The engine power of the Ducati superbikes would be in the range of 90 horsepower to 180 horsepower and would comply with Euro III emission norms, Chordia said.

Ducati motorcycles would first be available through two exclusive showrooms in Mumbai and Delhi, he said.

"By early next year, we will open three more exclusive showrooms in Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai," Chordia said.