Piaggio Vespa Elettrica To Go Into Production From Next Month

Piaggio has announced that it will be starting the production of the Vespa Elettrica at its plant in Pontedera, Italy from September 2018. This is the same plant where the first ever Vespa rolled off the production line in 1946. Piaggio will start taking bookings for the Vespa Elettrica from October 2018 onwards although it did not comment on when the deliveries would begin. The sale of the scooter will begin in Europe with America and Asia getting the scooter in early 2019. Piaggio says that the pricing strategy will be in line with the high-end bracket of the Vespa range currently on sale globally. The production version of the scooter will be displayed at the 2018 EICMA to be held in Milan in November 2018. The Piaggio Vespa Elettrica could possibly come to India as well by 2020.

(Piaggio Vespa Elettrica electric scooter)

Also Read: Piaggio Vespa Elettrica Showcased At The 2018 Auto Expo

The Vespa Elettrica was also showcased at the 2018 Auto Expo held in Febraury 2018 as well. It will be offered in two variants - the standard version with a 100 km range and the Elettrica X with over 200 km range. The Vespa Elettrica comes with an electric motor powered by a 4.2 kWh Lithium-ion battery that offers a maximum power of 4 kWh (5.4 bhp) and develops 200 Nm of peak torque. The Elettrica is powered by a lightweight lithium-ion battery and is good for 1000 cycles, which should see a life of between 50,000 and 70,000 km. The scooter has two riding modes as well - Eco and Power - with the Eco mode's top speed being limited to just 30 kmph.

(The Vespa Elettrica has a 4.3-inch TFT screen with multimedia options)

Piaggio Vespa Elettrica comes with a 4.3-inch TFT dash which can be connected to your phone. The system displays a lot of information and interactive options, including notifications of incoming calls and messages, as well as speed, residual range and remaining battery charge. There is also a joystick on the right handlebar which can be used to operate the multimedia system and the rider can also use voice commands to operate a phone when connected to a headset.

Vespa is riding a wave of success as of now, with over a million and a half vehicles sold during the last decade. The first half of 2018 closed with about a 10 per cent increase in sales volumes compared to the year ended in June 2017.