Piaggio Posts Over 63 Per Cent Growth In FY 2017

Piaggio Vehicles Pvt Ltd has posted impressive growth figures of over 63 per cent in the financial year 2016-17. According to data published by the Society of India Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), Piaggio, which owns two-wheeler brands Vespa and Aprilia, sold 43,810 units in the period from April 2016 till March 2017. In the month of March 2017 alone, Piaggio posted over 100 per cent growth, selling 4,731 two-wheeler units. The impressive growth numbers are on the back of sales of the Aprilia SR150 scooter as well as increasing consumer interest in Vespa 150 scooters.

(Aprilia SR150)

The Aprilia SR150 was launched last year and is powered by a 154.4 cc, single-cylinder, air-cooled engine making 10.4 bhp power and 11.5 Nm of torque. Piaggio's other 150 cc scooter, the Vespa 150, also has the same underpinnings. Together both these models don't have any real contenders in the Indian scooter space, which largely consists of 100-110 cc models and a few 125 cc scooters. Earlier this year, Piaggio launched another variant of the SR150, called the Aprilia SR150 Race.

"The Aprilia SR has driven domestic growth and Vespa is also showing increase in domestic sales. Overall we've seen a 63%+ growth in Piaggio India's two-wheeler domestic sales. Also domestic sales + exports to neighboring countries have together shown better results with combined growth at 77%+. Vespa alone has shown 12% growth," said Stefano Pelle, Managing Director and CEO, Piaggio Vehicles Pvt Ltd.

Piaggio's sales of two-wheelers under 125 cc declined nearly 19 per cent in FY 2016-17, from 22,266 units a year ago to 18,070 units at the end of FY2017. However, the company's sales of scooters above 125 cc and equal to 150 cc, which include the Vespa 150 and Aprilia SR150, grew a whopping 460 per cent. Sales in this segment a year ago was just 4,599 units, compared to 25,740 units this year.

Aprilia SR 150 Race

Clearly, there is a lot of consumer interest for premium scooters with 150 cc displacement. So far, none of the top five players in the scooter space have models above 125 cc, and this seemed to have worked quite well for Vespa and Aprilia scooters. Overall sales volumes of scooters in the 100-125 cc segment amount to over 54 lakhs during the financial year, but 150 cc scooters sold just over 25,000 units, and all these are under the Vespa and Aprilia brands, both owned by Piaggio. With increasing consumer interest in the Aprilia brand, it remains to be seen if Piaggio will end up launching a 125 cc version, called the Aprilia SR125 anytime soon. From all indications of the sales numbers, it's the 150 cc and above segments that could see more action in the coming months.