Piaggio to roll out 'Vespa 946' in Q4

Europe’s largest two-wheeler maker Piaggio said the latest model of its iconic scooter Vespa was under evaluation for road-worthiness and it might be made available in India from the last quarter of the current fiscal. The company also plans to launch another model under Vespa by the end of this year.

Vespa 946, which made its debut in Europe in June, is currently under the evaluation of Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI).

“The product is undergoing the homologation process under ARAI and this may take at least 3-4 months. Hopefully, it will be available from the fourth quarter of the current financial year,” said Ravi Chopra, CMD of Piaggio Vehicles Private Ltd. However, he did not disclose its price citing business confidentiality.

Since May, the company has created a platform on its official website to place orders for the yet-to-launch Vespa 946.

He also said they were maintaining a wait and watch policy when it comes to the quadricycle segment, and awaiting the law ministry notification in this regard.   

The company, having created the luxury premium 2-wheeler space in India by launching the Vespa LX 125 in May 2012, is aiming at expanding the 2-wheeler segment with a slew of launches under the Vespa umbrella by mid-2014. It has a manufacturing facility for Vespa (both the LX and VX)  at Baramati, Maharashtra, with a capacity to produce 150,000 units per annum.

As part of its strategy, the company has been procuring 95 per cent of the product material from local manufacturers. "Because of this, we are able to price our premium products, particularly Vespa, at a price which is approximately one-third of the prevailing price in the US and the European markets," he said.      

Speaking to the media during the launch of its latest Vespa VX here, Chopra said: “The new model is made exclusively to suit the Indian conditions. We keep introducing new Vespa range targeting predominantly the style and fashion conscious young demography in the country.”

Vespa VX, priced at Rs 71,900 (ex-showroom Hyderabad), powered by an advanced 4-stroke, 3 valve 125 cc engine, is capable of delivering a mileage of 60 kmpl, he said.

The company since its maiden launch of Vespa LX has managed sales of 50,000 units. “With the planned launches and the growing urban demand for premium 2-wheelers, we expect to clock 150,000 units per annum in the next two years,” said Chopra.