Piaggio Plans Scooter Capacity Expansion

Piaggio has already announced its intention of launching the Vespa brand in India. The company is now planning to double its scooter manufacturing capacity to facilitate its entry into the volume segment. The Italian automaker will commence production of the Vespa scooter from December, 2011 and will unveil the scooter at the 2012 Auto Expo in Delhi. Sales of the Vespa will commence from March, 2012 and we expect the Vespa 125cc to be priced around Rs. 60,000/-. With an investment of Euro 30 million, the company will initially be able to manufacture 1.5 lakh units of the Vespa every year and plans to double the output to 3 lakh units by 2013. The company expects robust growth in the scooter segment in the next five years.

“We see a tremendous opportunity for a range of scooters since this a market which is growing. So, we will double our scooter production capacities from 1.5 lakh annually, which is for the Vespa, to 3 lakh per annum by the first half of 2013 to produce this range of scooters. We also see growth in upper end of the motorcycle market, in the executive and premium segments rather than in the entry or economy segment. Therefore, we are evaluating the feasibility of bringing in our upper end bikes, keeping in mind growth in this segment,” Ravi Chopra, chairman and MD, Piaggio India said.