Piaggio India could be the next big player in the electric scooter segment as the company is developing battery-powered models, according to a recent report. The company will take about two years to develop the electric scooter and it says it wants to make a business case for its products even after the government subsidies have been withdrawn. At present, Piaggio retails petrol-powered scooters in the country. However, its commercial vehicle arm has already forayed into the electric mobility space with the Ape electric three-wheeler. The company wants to have a sustainable business case for its EV business without subsidies. [1]

Figure 1. Piaggio Working on an Electric Scooter for India

Figure 1 shows Piaggio India currently retails petrol powered scooters such as the SR 160 and SXR 160, which have been specially developed for the domestic market.

The report quoted Diego Graffi, CEO and MD, Piaggio India as saying, “We are interested in providing customers with a solution in the two-wheeler sector that goes beyond the impact of subsidies (understandable). It is a matter of fact that players who have entered this space recently are getting volume on subsidy basis.”

Currently, electric vehicles are heavily subsidized in the country, which has helped make them more accessible to customers, especially by [2] reducing the delta on petrol-powered scooters. The report suggests that central and state government subsidies help reduce the cost of electric two-wheelers by up to 40 percent.

The top honcho of the company believes that while India has the manufacturing capabilities, the supplier eco-system isn’t ready to churn out good volumes. This could take a while to happen. The company is planning to get into high-speed performance EV segment and that means it would take on products like the Ather 450X.

There’s still no information whether the brand would develop an e-scooter from scratch and make something that is based on the Aprilia or Vespa scooters. We feel it would be the latter as it is extremely difficult to have an e-scooter ready from ground-up in just two years. [3]

References:

1. https://www.carandbike.com/news/piaggio-working-on-an-electric-scooter-for-india-report-2782080
2. https://news.bharattimes.co.in/piaggio-working-on-electric-scooter-for-india-report/
3. https://www.bikewale.com/news/piaggio-working-on-electric-scooter-for-india-launch-in-2024/

Cite this article:

Thanusri swetha J (2022), Piaggio Working on an Electric Scooter for India, pp. 143