Aprilia Looking To Shake-Up The 300-500cc Motorcycles Segment In India

The Italian manufacturer is quite bullish about the Indian market and is planning to launch sports bikes in the coming future. With just the scooter - Aprilia SR 150 - which has been launched in India and production commenced to cater the two-wheeler segment, Aprilia wants to get serious and get into the 300-500cc segment.

As of now, Aprilia is concentrating on expanding its network, currently there are 80 dealers and another 32 will be added by the end of 2016. They have been importing all the superbikes to India and there not even CKD (Completely Knocked Down) kits, which is assembled here. This has led to higher pricing of the superbikes in India.

Stefano Pelle, managing director of Piaggio Vehicles, in an interview to AutoCar Professional, said, "I knew that the people in India, those who ride, would know about the Aprilia brand. But frankly the awareness about the Aprilia brand here is higher than what we had anticipated. That said, it still remains a brand that needs to be developed. Yes, we are evaluating (bringing in) the mid-sized Aprilia motorcycles. It is still in the study phase where we try to understand what could be the different segments where we should be. The perception of midsized motorcycles in India is the ones with the engine displacement of 300cc-500cc. This is something which could be interesting for us in the future."

By launching the Aprilia sports bikes under the 300-500c in India, they will look to manufacture it here in India mainly to reduce cost, this would ultimately bring the prices of the bikes. This way they can be competitive in the segment they are looking to foray into.

Aprilia has a great fan base and the manufacture could capitalise the aura behind the superbikes and bring more options to the Indian bike-loving community.

Source

Image Gallery Of Aprilia SR150