Following Vespa, Piaggio may bring more brands to India

Piaggio is relaunching its iconic vespa scooter in European markets this March, and may bring in other brands such as Piaggio scooters and Moto Guzzi to the Indian market in the near future. "We are doing a comprehensive and exhaustive research in India as to what could be the product line for the next few years," Piaggio Vehicles India MD Ravi Chopra said. "We will be clear about what should be the road map for Piaggio in India in the next few months," he said. The findings of the study are likely to be completed by March.

The Italian two-wheeler maker's global brands include Vespa, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, Piaggio, Derbi, Gilera and Laverda. While Vespa will be positioned in the premium segment, with 20-25% higher price tags than Honda or Suzuki scooters, the Italian company may bring in Piaggio branded scooters in the mass market. "We have to get into mass market scooter segment that is the large chunk of the market. If we don't exploit at the right time, then I think we will miss out on the opportunity," said Chopra.

The company may also enter the executive and premium segments-that is, 110-250 cc and priced between 50,000-1,50,000-and also bring in the Moto Guzzi in the big premium luxury motorcycles segment. The immediate focus, however, is Vespa.

Chopra declined to comment on its likely price tag, but said the company is convinced that there are enough takers for a premium scooter. "After an intensive research, we are more than convinced that there are enough people who would like to have a lifestyle product, who would like to be part of the exclusive club," he said. While Piaggio will roll out Vespa 125 cc scooter first, it eventually plans to bring in the entire range (125-300 cc).

It's a highly competitive market. And at the Delhi Auto Expo, where Vespa was launched, several of its competition too were showcased what with Hero MotoCorp, Yamaha India, Suzuki Motorcycle and Mahindra Two wheelers all launching scooters.

"They will have invest huge amount of money on branding and get the pricing right to succeed," he added. Piaggio has invested 32 million euros, or 210 crore, in an all-new plant in Baramati with a capacity of 1,50,000 units annually. It intends to have 50 dealers in 35 cities this year and 100 dealers within 18-24 months.