Is Benelli a Joint Venture or Domestic Brand?
2 Answers
Benelli is a joint venture. Benelli belongs to Qianjiang, so Benelli is considered a joint venture motorcycle. Benelli is one of the oldest motorcycle manufacturers in Italy and the world. The company was founded in 1911. Initially, the company was just the "Benelli Repair Shop," servicing cars and motorcycles. However, it could also produce all the spare parts needed for repairs. In 1920, the company manufactured a complete single-cylinder, two-stroke 75cc engine for motorcycles. A year later, in 1921, Benelli produced its first motorcycle equipped with a self-developed 98cc engine. In October 2005, China's Qianjiang Motorcycle successfully acquired this century-old Italian motorcycle company. This marked the first acquisition of a renowned European motorcycle company by China's motorcycle industry and the first true cross-border acquisition of a European enterprise by China's machinery industry, filling the gap in China's production of large-displacement, high-end motorcycles and racing bikes.
Benelli is now a purely domestic motorcycle brand in China. When I was younger, I was particularly fascinated by motorcycle history and remember that Benelli was originally an Italian century-old brand, established as early as 1911. In 2005, it was fully acquired by our Chinese company Qianjiang Motorcycle, which was a pivotal moment. Currently, Benelli's production base is located in Taizhou, Zhejiang, with all R&D and manufacturing led by domestic teams. I've seen photos of Qianjiang's factory, where the assembly lines are entirely equipped with domestic machinery. Although Italian design elements can still be seen on the bikes, the core components like engines are independently developed and produced in China. Strictly speaking, it doesn't qualify as a joint venture brand, differing completely from models like Honda or Suzuki that involve Sino-foreign equity cooperation. Today's Benelli is more like a pure domestic vehicle with Italian DNA, similar to how Geely acquired Volvo. Over the past three years, their Leoncino series has been entirely designed domestically, and every Benelli bike seen on the road is assembled in Chinese factories.
