New Delhi, July 4, 2013: Flagging off its second Vespa scooter, the 125cc Vespa VX a year after the LX 125 rolled out, Piaggio Vehicles has set the ball rolling for strengthening its premium brand of scooters.

An entire new Vespa scooter range is slated for rollout over the next 18 months with a new model in the pipeline by the year end. This third model will be powered by a 125 or 150cc engine, according to Ravi Chopra, chairman and managing director.

Speaking at the Vespa VX launch, he maintained that Piaggio has no interest in entering the mass commuter segment where the volumes lie and is focussed on a premium positioning for the marque brand.

Priced Rs 5,500 higher than the LX 125, the new Vespa VX costs Rs 71,389 (ex-showroom Delhi). Powered by a 125cc, four-stroke, three-valve engine, the VX has been developed by Piaggio especially for the Indian market. It is based on the Vespa LX platform which, the company says, is a bestseller in the European and American markets.

The Vespa VX comes shod with tubeless tyres, a front disc brake and is claimed to deliver a mileage of 60 kilometres per litre. According to Chopra, the company has sold 52,000 scooters in the past year. Piaggio’s state-of-the-art two-wheeler plant at Baramati, near Pune, has a manufacturing capacity of 150,000 units with only a small portion of it currently utilised. The plant also makes three- and four-wheelers.

SHOBHA MATHUR

Photograph: Ravi Chopra, CMD, Piaggio Vehicles, reveals the Vespa VX in New Delhi.