1990 - Today

Our Story

1990 - Today

In the late 60s-70s, competition from Japan started building increasingly innovative and technically advanced motorcycles. The decline was slow and yet inevitable. In 1988 Benelli was brought to its knees. The industrial tycoon Mr. Giancarlo Selci, owner of the Biesse group, saved the formerly glorious company from an uncertain future and bought Benelli on October 23th, 1989. The company targeted the scooter market with 2 models, the Devil and Scooty. It seemed that a new time of prosperity had begun, but after the first moments of success, the prospects became uncertain again. In 1995, the Merloni Group of Fabriano purchased the majority stake in the historical brand. Andrea Merloni, the son of Vittorio, was the leader of the new company and a fresh start arrived with the aggressive 491 scooters. They took on new ambitious projects, including scooters and even sports bikes. The Tornado 900cc three-cylinder competed in the World Superbike Championship and the TnT 1130cc was a modern superbike for the street. Unfortunately, Benelli had to face a new crisis of ownership for a time. However, in December 2005 Benelli became part of the Qianjiang Group, winner of the award for best motorcycle exporter of the year. Qianjiang (QJ) has 670,000 sq. meters of production area equipped with sophisticated parts manufacturing machinery imported from Germany, Italy, and the USA. The QJ company, with a capital of more than 750 million US$, has been listed on the Chinese stock exchange since 1999 and also produces quads, electric bicycles, lawnmowers, golf carts, generators, pumps, and other gardening equipment. 20% of its production is exported abroad, including to the Americas and Europe. Qianjiang is focused on quality and has held the internationally recognized ISO 9001 certification since 1997. With the new capital and synergy between Italy and China, Benelli Q.J. is currently working on multiple new bike projects and focused on re-launching Benelli to the world markets including the United States. In 2011, Benelli successfully celebrated its first centenary.