Benelli eyes india as export hub

Hyderabad: Even as Benelli India’s Hyderabad unit set to roll out its first bike next week, the company is  already planning to set up a second manufacturing unit in the country as it eyes India as an export hub.

“Our current unit has a capacity of 7,000 units per annum. But, the new manufacturing unit would be of much bigger scale. It would have a capacity of about 1.2 lakh units per year. The new unit would help meet our export ambitions,” said Vikas Jhabakh, managing director, Benelli India.

When asked about the location of the new unit, Mr Jhabakh said, “It’s still too early. We have sent our list of criteria such as proximity to port, SEZs and road connectivity to consultants. Most of the top manufacturing hubs like Pune, Chennai, NCR and even Sri City are in consideration.”

The company, however, has set itself a deadline for the new unit. Mr Jhabakh said, “It plans to acquire the land by Q1CY19 and complete it by December 2020”

Meanwhile, Benelli, which re-released three bikes in the country, plans to bring in 12 models including variants  by December 2019.