The Italian super-bike maker MV Agusta, known as the Ferrari of the bike world, today entered the country with three of its iconic models through a distribution tie-up with the city-based Kinetic Group.
Started originally in 1923 as Meccanica Verghera Agusta, an offshoot of Agusta Aviation Company, which is embroiled in a controversy for a bribery scandal related to the Rs 3,600- crore VVIP chopper deal, the company has seen change of ownership over the years. In 1945, MV Agusta was founded as a motorcycle company by Vincenzo Agusta and Domenico Agusta.
At an entry price of Rs 16.78 lakh (for MV Agusta F3-800) and going up to Rs 50.10 lakh (for F4 RR 1000-cc), ex-showroom Pune, these bikes are probably the costliest racing bikes being sold in the country now.
Kinetic has set up a separate company, MV Agusta India, and a distribution brand called Motoroyale by Kinetic, to sell the bikes which will compete with Triumph, Ducati, Benelli and Kawasaki which are in the range of Rs 6 lakh to Rs 34 lakh.
The Italian company does not consider Harley Davidson as its competition as these premium American bikes are not primarily cruising models and not for racing.
The Verese, Milan-based MV Agusta makes the world's most premium high-performance superbikes, known for handcrafted designs and extremely powerful engines which are 3- and 4-cylinders, making them as good as a car engine.
The first range of the superbikes which will be sold in the country comprises the F4 (1,000-cc), F3 (800-cc) and Brutale 1090 (cc), MV Agusta India managing director Ajinkya Firodia said, adding the F3 will be assembled at the Kinetic plant at Ahmednagar as SKD units.
He said India is the second market for the famed Italian company where it is assembling its models after Brazil.
"We hope to sell at least 300 units by December and corner at least 5 per cent of the 7,000-units a year superbikes market in the country. We have already sold 8 units (four F3s and 2 each of F4s and Brutales). Our target is to corner 10 per cent of the market over the next three years when the market is expected to hit 20,000 units per annum," Firodia told PTI.
Judah Immanuel Sangaran, head of MV Agusta Motor SpA Far East, said the first Motoroyale showroom will be opened tomorrow in Pune and five more will come up over the next two months in Ahmedabad, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, and Mumbai.
"This is the perfect time for us to enter India, as we are witnessing a surge in demand for premium motorcycles. We offer the best-in-class superbikes that boast iconic designs by the renowned Massimo Tamburini as well as superior cutting-edge technology," Sangaran said.
Firodia said the domestic premium bikes market (priced
above Rs 3 lakh) was around 12,000 units in 2015 while the total two-wheeler market stood at over 14 million. Around 7,000 units of the premium category are super-bikes, priced above Rs 5 lakh.
The market leader is the American Harley Davidson selling close 5,000 units a year, the Italian Benelli over 2,400 units, the British brand Truimp notching up around 1,200 units, the Italian Ducati 600 units and the Japanese Kawazaki selling over 100 units a year. That apart the Japanese models Honda, Suzuki and Yahama are also present in the market, Firodia said quoting market sources.
The Motoroyale showrooms will focus on sales, service, spares and after-sales support, Firodia said. MV Agusta India also has the exclusive distribution rights for all MV Agusta bikes in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, he said, adding the association does not involve any equity participation.
Firodia also said he expects to start a CKD assembly line for the F3 within a year as without local assembly he will not be able to jack up the volumes.
Most of MV Agusta bike models are handcrafted. The company, in which Mercedes-AMG owns 25 per cent stake and the rest is held by the promoter family, does not use a single part from outside Italy.
With 3- and 4-cylinder engines, the MV bikes are as good as a car engine. An F4 can attain a speed of 0 to 100 in a flat 2.4 seconds, while a Ferrari takes over 4 seconds.
The company has an installed capacity of 15000 units and clocked the best ever sales in 2015 at 8000 units, a growth of over 30 per cent over 2014. Asia Pacific contributes over 22 per cent of the total sales for the company, Sangaran said, adding Australia with 500 units last year and Japan at 400 units are the largest markets.
