The Piaggio Group will start production of Vespa Elettrica in September. The long-awaited electric version of one of the world’s most iconic scooters will be produced at the Pontedera plant in the province of Pisa, the same one where Vespa first rolled off the line in the spring of 1946.
The first vehicles will already be possible to book at the beginning of October and only online on the dedicated website, with innovative all inclusive financing formulas that will join the conventional purchasing systems. The price will be in line with the high-end bracket of the Vespa range presently being marketed.
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Vespa Elettrica will then be gradually put on the market starting from the end of October to reach full marketing in November to coincide with the 2018 Milan Espozisione Internazionale Ciclo e Motociclo, Accessori (EICMA) show. Sales will begin in Europe, then extended to the United States and Asia, starting early 2019.
Vespa Elettrica is but a first step for the Piaggio Group in the direction of a new richness of interconnection between vehicles and human operators. Vespa Elettrica will be ready to be fitted out in the near future with solutions currently being developed for Gita, the robot currently on the drawing board at Piaggio Fast Forward in Boston (which will be entering production at the beginning of 2019), such as artificial intelligence systems both adaptive and responsive to all human input. They will be aware of people and other vehicles operating in the vicinity, extend the operator’s ability to sense potential perils and opportunities, and provide real time mapping and traffic data that contributes to improving the design of transportation infrastructures in cities. Most of all, these new-generation vehicles will thoroughly know their operators: they will recognize them without key fobs, anticipate their driving choices, interact with other devices and vehicles on the road and allow for degrees of personalization that can barely be imagined today.
Vespa Elettrica is launched as the contemporary icon of Italian technology around the world. By adopting electric drive, Vespa once again combines style with innovation.
The Vespa brand today is experiencing one of the most successful moments of its history, with over a million and a half vehicles sold during the last decade. The first half of 2018 closed with about a 10% increase in sales volumes compared to the same period in 2017.