Vespa returns to India, again

Piaggio Vehicles Pvt Ltd unveiled the first of the new Vespa Scooters, the four-stroke LX 125, in India for the first time at an auto expo in Mumbai on Monday. Touted as the flagship model, the LX 125 will be the first Vespa scooter that the Italian automaker will begin selling in India in 2012.

Vespa, already a popular name in India, is making an entry into the two-wheeler market for the third time, however, with two new models and as a fully-owned subsidiary of its parent company Piaggio & Co. SpA, Italy. It was an evening full of nostalgia as surprised and curious visitors — many of them had rode a Vespa at least once or owned one — thronged at the Italian automakers stand at the MMRDA ground in BKC. “It’s a great looking scooter,” said an onlooker, adding, “Those who have driven a Vespa would know what it is,” said a visitor in his early 40s.

The automaker this time has stayed away from partnering with a third party, which often resulted into their early exit. They entered India for the first time in the 1960s in partnership with Bajaj Auto Ltd, (Chetak scooter was a product of this partnership) and then again in the 1983 with LML Motors, when it produced P-series scooters (LML NV and LML Select) for the Indian market.

Ravi Chopra, chairman and managing director, Piaggio Vehicles Pvt Ltd says, “Vespa is an amazing scooter, which most of the Indians already have had an experience with at some point in time. But the new scooters that we are bringing to India are far different from the ones they have seen. The LX 125 is much more than a scooter. It’s technologically advanced, stylish, and most importantly the real Italian Vespa that people in India never knew of. It will be sold without any changes.”

Chopra says that styling will play a key role in differentiating its products in the Indian market. “Indians today, don’t want to ride just a vehicle that gives good mileage, but also the one that makes a style statement. It’s true irrespective of age groups. A vehicle is about attitude and making a statement, and that’s what the LX 125 does,” he added.

But with fuel prices increased again, recently, mileage would be a key factor in deciding the scooter’s fate in India, as another visitor pointed out: “How much does it give on the road?”

Chopra expects the scooters to be available in the market by mid-2012 and plans to bring more models in near future.