Vespa to be back on Indian roads by march 2012
September 6th, 2011 - 8:36 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi, Sep 6 (IANS) The iconic Vespa scooter will be back on Indian roads by March next year, more than a decade after it was withdrawn by Italian two- and three-wheeler major Piaggio.
The company launched Vespa in the country in the 1950s in collaboration with the Firodias.
“As per our plan, we will be launching the Vespa by March next year,” Ravi Chopra, chairman and managing director, Piaggio Vehicles, told reporters on the sidelines of an event here Tuesday.
The new Vespa will be a 125cc gearless scooter. The company did not disclose its price range.
According to Chopra, an investment of 30 million euros is being made in the firm’s scooter manufacturing facility at Baramati in Maharashtra.
“The capacity of the plant would be 150,000 units and would be expanded to three lakh units per annum by mid-2013,” Chopra said.
Vespa had a chequered run in the country. It ruled the Indian roads for 20 years, in collaboration with the Firodias, but the Indira Gandhi government declined to renew its licence in 1971. The famous Bajaj Chetak was an outcome of that decision.
The company made a re-entry in 1983, this time in collaboration with the Lohias of the LML group but had to leave the shores again in 1999 after a protracted battle with the Indian partners.
When asked about the company’s plans to venture into the motorcycle segment, Chopra said: “We are studying the matter carefully, there is a huge opportunity for that segment in India.”
Chopra added that the company was developing a new 200cc petrol engine for the three-wheeler segment which will be ready by mid-2012.
The company recently increased its three-wheeler production from 800 to 1,000 units per day.
- Piaggio re-enters Indian market with Vespa scooter - Jan 06, 2012
- Piaggio's Vespa to run on Indian roads again (Lead) - Aug 26, 2010
- Piaggio to launch Vespa scooter again in India - Aug 26, 2010
- TVS Motor sales up by 24 percent in February - Mar 01, 2011
- TVS to roll out scooters, bikes with common engine - Dec 28, 2011
- TVS Motor logs five percent sales growth in January - Feb 01, 2012
- TVS Motors launches India's first auto-clutch bike - Nov 25, 2009
- Kinetic Engineering to launch two new gearboxes - Jan 17, 2012
- TVS Motor logs lower sales in March - Apr 02, 2012
- TVS Motor logs 14 percent sales growth in April - May 01, 2011
- Bajaj Auto unveils low-cost four-wheeler (Lead) (With image) - Jan 03, 2012
- HMSI launches its second 110 cc bike for mass market - May 15, 2012
- TVS Motor logs lower sales in December - Jan 02, 2012
- TVS Motor sales up 7 percent in April - May 01, 2012
- Suzuki looking at India as a two-wheeler export hub - May 15, 2012
Tags: 125cc, 1950s, 200cc, 30 million, annum, bajaj, baramati, collaboration, decade, indian partners, indian roads, indira gandhi, lakh units, managing director, motorcycle, New Delhi, segment, sidelines, three wheeler, vespa scooter