Piaggio Re-Enters Indian Market With Vespa Scooter

Italian two-wheeler maker Piaggio showcases the gearless Vespa scooter at the Auto Expo 2012 in New Delhi on Friday, Jan. 6, 2012. It will hit the roads in April and will be available in 35 major cities.

The company plans to produce the scooter at its Baramati (Maharashtra) facility with an initial capacity of 1,50,000 units.

Vespa will also have its own club that will allow two wheeler enthusiasts to be a part of an exclusive fraternity. There are 685 Vespa clubs in the world now.

Vespa had a chequered run in the country. It ruled the Indian roads for 20 years in collaboration with the Firodias, but the Indira Gandhi government declined to renew its license in 1971. The famous Bajaj Chetak was an outcome of that decision.

The company made a re-entry in 1983, this time in collaboration with the Lohias of the LML group but had to leave the shores again in 1999 after a protracted battle with its Indian partner.

Invented in 1946 as the world's first scooter, Vespa is currently available in more than 100 countries with over 17 million units of sale.