There has been an extended period of silence from Adishwar Auto Ride India (AARI) Pvt. Ltd., the company that retails brands like Benelli, Keeway, Moto Morini, Zontes and QJMotor, when it comes to new product launches. We recently had the opportunity to speak to Vikas Jhabakh, MD, who shed some light on the business as well as what to expect from these Chinese brands in the near future.
- New Benelli product likely to launch this year or early 2027
- TNT600i ruled out for India return due to emissions norms and E20 fuel
New product launches planned across all brands, starting with Benelli
Keeway and Moto Morini are also due to see new launches
While AARI has had a relatively muted past 18 months (more on that below), the company has plans to launch more models across the various brands in its umbrella. Benelli, Vikas said, is the most important brand name for AARI and there will be more launches under its umbrella. “For Benelli, we will definitely bring in one product before the end of this year. We are under homologation right now. So we are fairly confident.”
“With Benelli, the strategy is one product every year for the next three years, including this year. So, let us say one this year, one next year, one the year after that. I think Benelli has always been our bread and butter brand that is going to be there. And we're also exploring more products. Some within Benelli, some within Keeway, one Moto Morini specifically that we're looking at.”
Benelli currently has four models in India, all based on the same 502cc, twin-cyl platform - Leoncino neo-retro, 502C sporty cruiser, TRK 502 and TRK 502X ADVs. While Vikas declined to identify any future products, he did rule out the return of the popular four-cylinder TNT600i sport naked. The reason being that the bike is neither emissions nor E20 fuel compatible and ensuring it does will need significant investment and testing.
Keeway too will see further products coming in, although they could be rebadged Benda models, like the V302C currently sold here. Coming to Moto Morini, Vikas explicitly mentioned that AARI is looking at “one specific product.” While no indication was given about what that model could be, we believe the Alltrhike 450 adventure bike is a good candidate for our market. With CFMoto’s India re-entry plans on hold, the Moto Morini Alltrhike 450 could offer a rather similar experience because it is based on the same engine and chassis platform.
For future Keeway and Moto Morini launches, no concrete timelines were shared.
