Husqvarna Vitpilen 401 and Svartpilen 401 to come to India in 2020
The Husqvarna brand's debut in India may take place in the coming year. Husqvarna will first bring its KTM 390 Duke-based Vitpilen 401 and Svartpilen to the country. Test mules of these motorcycles have already been spotted in India on multiple occasions. The Husqvarna Vitpilen 401 and Svartpilen 401 will be produced at the Bajaj Auto plant in Chakan, Pune. While their production is set to begin in 2019, they will only be launched in the country by 2020. Previously, Rajiv Bajaj had announced that the motorcycles will come to India in 2019-20.
The Husqvarna 401 Svartpilen is more of a slick cafe racer in proportion and styling based on the same KTM 390 Duke platform
Subsequently, Stefan Pierer, CEO of Husqvarna's parent company KTM said that the Vitpilen 401 and Svartpilen should be launched in India by 2020, adding that production should begin by the end of 2019 at Chakan. The plant currently produces one lakh units of KTM motorcycles annually. With Husqvarna models as well as new KTM models including the KTM 390 Adventure expected to launch this year, the capacity will go up to two lakh units per year.
The Huskies, as the brand's motorcycles are popularly referred to, will come powered by the same 373.2cc liquid-cooled single cylinder engine as the KTM 390 Duke and RC 390. The engine on the KTMs puts out 43.5PS of power and 37Nm of torque and comes mated to a six-speed gearbox with slipper clutch. They will also share the KTM 390 platform with these motorcycles.
The Husqvarna brand, however, will be positioned as a more premium offering than the KTMs and will hence be priced higher. Expect to see a price difference of at least Rs 30-40,000 over the orange counterparts. We expect the Husqvarna motorcycles to be sold through the existing KTM India dealership network. With a price closer to the Rs 3 lakh mark, the Huskies will compete with the BMW G 310 R launched by BMW Motorrad India. India Kawasaki Motors (IKM) also launched the 2019 Ninja 300 at a price of Rs 2.98 lakh (ex-showroom), adding ABS to the kit.
Husqvarna Vitpilen 401
Interestingly, with the manufacture of both the 401s in India, Husqvarna will have moved its entire global production of the two motorcycles from Mattighofen, Austria to here. Bajaj also has the Dominar 400, which has an engine based on the KTMs but is offered at a lower price point. The upcoming KTM 390 Adventure, which also shares part of this platform will also debut in 2019. This is a good example of scaling a platform across various products and price ranges.
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