Husqvarna Kicks Off Its India Innings With Over 400 Bikes Dispatched

The brand dispatched 410 bikes in March, though it’s quite likely that not all have been sold yet

• The Swedish brand, owned by KTM, currently offers the Svartpilen 250 and Vitpilen 250.
• Both models were launched in February at Rs 1.80 lakh, making them even more affordable than the KTM 250 Duke.
• Husqvarna bikes are being sold through hybrid KTM-Husqvarna dealerships. 

It was a long time coming, but Husqvarna finally entered the Indian market back in February by launching its Svartpilen and Vitpilen models. They weren’t what we expected, though: we received the 250cc models and not the earlier expected 401s. We now know that the Swedish brand has dispatched 410 motorcycles across the Svartpilen 250 and Vitpilen 250 models in March.

This marks a reasonably strong start to Husqvarna’s innings in India, surely helped in no small part by the extremely attractive pricing. At Rs 1.80 lakh, the 250cc models are more affordable than the KTM 250 Duke and only Rs 20,000 more expensive than the far less desirable Bajaj Dominar 250. That being said, we must remember that this is only the number of motorcycles that have been dispatched from the factory to dealerships across the country. It’s highly unlikely that every one of these bikes has been sold, considering the country went into lockdown for the final third of the month.

Both bikes share similar underpinnings: a trellis frame that houses the same liquid-cooled 248.8cc motor seen in the quarter-litre Duke, suspended on an upside-down fork and preload-adjustable monoshock. But while the Vitpilen is a gorgeous neo-cafe racer with clip-on style bars and consequently, a more aggressive riding posture, the Svartpilen is more of a scrambler/soft-roader with more upright ergos and dual-purpose tyres.