Italian two-wheeler maker Piaggio unveiled the electric version of the Vespa to the Indian crowd in 2020 at the Auto Expo. Though plans of launching the battery powered scooter in India is under investigation, its maker has kept the option open for bringing in an electric Aprilia too.
Speaking to Moneycontrol, Diego Graffi, chairman and managing director, Piaggio Vehicles said the company is watching the demand trend for electric two-wheelers in India and will decide on the brand to be introduced.
“The investigation is going on as it takes time because these powertrains which are fully developed by Piaggio requires full localisation of components. After the pandemic we have not seen the kind of growth we were expecting for electric two-wheeler. We are looking at what the trend could be in the next two years. At the moment we are focussing mainly on the Vespa but I am not excluding the possibility of applying the same electric powertrain on the Aprilia,” said Graffi.
After the showcasing of the Vespa Elettrica last year Piaggio claims to have received several interests from dealers and prospective buyers for the battery-powered scooter. But due to inadequate electric vehicle manufacturing infrastructure in India especially lithium-ion cells, Piaggio has held back plans of making any commercial introduction of EVs.
While the Vespa brand has attained a premium positioning in India, the Aprilia brand is known for its racing heritage. Piaggio is the only company to have launched 150cc scooters in the Indian market even as the less powerful 125cc category is the most popular among buyers.
Bringing an electric scooter under the Aprilia brand will mean launching a performance-oriented product, which will be in line Aprilia’s brand promise.
The Vespa Elettrica is sold mainly in Europe. It has a charging time of four hours and a ride range of 100 km. A 4kW motor powers the two-wheeler to a top speed of 70 km per hour.
The e-Vespa’s specifications are almost the same as the electric Bajaj Chetak, which was launched in January 2020. In fact, both the e-scooters have the same design and styling theme as both are of the same lineage. The Chetak of the 1970s borrowed design and styling from the Vespa following a partnership between Bajaj Auto and Piaggio.
Bajaj Auto is yet to officially reopen bookings of the Chetak after it was forced to shut it down following overwhelming bookings received for the vehicle. Chetak’s sale was limited to only Pune and Bengaluru.
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