Piaggio is all set to launch the premium motorcycle, Aprilia RSV4 and the iconic Vespa LX 125 in India.
 

Powered by a 999cc V4 engine, the RSV4 FACTORY is the flagship model from the Aprilia stable and follows a completely innovative approach to its design and construction. Its narrow V-engine, its state-of the-art electronics, its lightness and extreme compactness make it a unique winner. Aprilia had introduced the RSV4 in 2009 and it went on to win the 2010 World Superbike Championship on its debut outing.

Bookings of the Aprilia RSV4 have already commenced with an estimated price tag of Rs 15 - 21lakh, depending on the variants. The superbike will be put on display at Piaggio showrooms in selected cities, with deliveries starting within 2011.

Next in line is the Vespa LX 125 that Piaggio is planning to re-launch in India. The chairman of the board of directors of Piaggio & C. S.p.A, the Italian scooter manufacturer has approved a business plan for the setting up of a new factory in India and the launch of a Vespa LX 125 model specially developed for India in 2012.

Piaggio is planning to manufacture the bike at its Baramati plant with an annual capacity of 150,000 units per year and will entail an estimated investment of Euro 30 million in the financial years 2010-2011. The company aims to earn revenues of approximately euro 70 million in 2015 when investment payback is projected on sales of approximately 110,000 scooters. This will be the third plant where the scooter will be manufactured after Italy and Vietnam.

Vespa's association with India goes back to the 1950s when it had a joint venture with the Firodias. The company has had a chequred history in India with a JV with the LML ending in a dispute in 1999.

At its Baramati plant, Piaggio Vehicles Private Ltd. is also completing industrialisation of the new 1.0-litre and 1.2 litre diesel and turbodiesel engines intended for the new Piaggio commercial vehicles to be marketed on the European and Asian markets.

Aprilia and Vespa coming to India