Benelli, the Chinese-owned Italian motorcycle brand, has been gaining steam all across the globe. It flaunts affordable, stylish, and reliable machines, as well as a rich brand heritage which its current models do an adequate job of living up to. The company’s bikes are developed and manufactured in China, by motorcycle giant QJ Motor.
In its ancestral home of Italy, Benelli has been enjoying some pretty impressive sales figures over the recent years. 2020 saw its best sales performance yet, and also, the TRK 502 adventure bike was crowned as the best-selling bike in Italy. That being said, I’m certain the folks over at Benelli HQ are throwing a party, as the company’s 2021 sales figures in Italy absolutely smashed that of the previous year. 2021’s numbers, according to Italian motorcycling publication Moto.IT, registered a 57 percent growth rate versus those of 2020.
To make things even better, the Benelli TRK 502 holds on to its spot as the best-selling bike in the region, with a total of 6,543 units registered in 2021 alone. On top of this, two other models in the Benelli range made it to the top fifteen best-selling bikes for 2021. The Leoncino 500, Benelli’s neo-retro roadster offering, performed incredibly well. So, too, did the Benelli BN 125 beginner-friendly naked streetfighter.
Gianni Monini, Benelli Italy’s sales manager, expressed his excitement following the improved sales figures. “We are very satisfied with the goals achieved in 2021, but we are convinced that these results are not a point of arrival but a stimulus to improve our performance, day after day. There are many Italian motorcyclists who have decided to trust us in recent years by purchasing our vehicles and now we are ready to offer them new and exciting models that will complete the range, such as Leoncino 125, Leoncino 800, Leoncino 800 Trail and TRK 800.”
Overall, Benelli holds a massive slice of the pie in the 300cc to 500cc segment, with a total of 40 percent market share—based on vehicle registration data in Italy. Given Benelli’s plans of launching bigger, more performance-oriented machines in the coming years, could the company also make a strong impact in the middleweight to heavyweight segment with the upcoming TRK 800 and Leoncino 800, as well as the 1200 GT grand-tourer?
