January 28, 2013: Piaggio Vehicles, the 100 percent subsidiary of Piaggio C & SpA of Italy, plans to expand its scooter business in India by adding variants to the premium Vespa LX125 scooter launched in April 2012. Ravi Chopra, chairman and MD, Piaggio Vehicles India, told Autocar Professional that the company will shortly introduce a front disc brake and sporty variants of the LX125.
The company recently reduced the LX125’s price from 66,661 to Rs 59,990 (ex-showroom Pune). Chopra explains the price cut due to “having achieved high levels of productivity in our manufacturing processes and optimisation of systems. We have just passed the cost efficiencies on to our customers and have maximised the value offering. Vespa buyers are now getting cost benefits in the range of Rs 7,000-Rs 8,000.”
“By increasing the LX125’s reach, we aim at making more people join the Vespa family. A Vespa enthusiast will buy a Vespa scooter irrespective of the price,” Chopra said. The company has sold 25,641 units of the LX125 in 2012.
Going forward, Chopra targets to sell nearly 100,000 units of the Vespa scooter during 2013. “We plan to enlarge the bandwidth for Vespa buyers this year and increase the reach further and tap the potential of this segment. Our pricing strategy was to create a premium scooter segment in India and I believe that we have performed very well so far. We are the owners of the luxury scooter segment here and will continue to support and consolidate the category with a single focal point. Hence, our short-term focus is the premium segment. Vespa scooters are iconic and icons cannot be duplicated,” elucidates Chopra.
As of December 2012, the company had 60 dealerships and plans are to have 80 and 100 dealerships by March and September 2013 respectively.
On the big bike business front, the company has recently opened a Moto Guzzi showroom in Gurgaon, near New Delhi, which shares space with the Aprilia brand. Chopra says, “If you want a Moto Guzzi California or Norge, we will get them for you. We are making available the entire line-up of the 850cc and above motorcycles of both Aprilia and Moto Guzzi in India.”
He added that the Moto Guzzi brand will share retail space with Aprilia motorcycles to offer enthusiasts a choice between the two iconic brands. The company managed to sell 15 Aprilias from its Pune dealership during 2012. “These motorcycles cost a fortune. Considering we sold 15 Aprilias from a single point of sales in Pune is good. Going forward, we plan to set up three more dealerships in Hyderabad, Bangalore and one more location in the next three to six months. That will surely boost the sales of our big bike business,” says Chopra. The company currently has two dealerships for the Aprilia brand, in Pune and Gurgaon.
AMIT PANDAY