Piaggio plans to have the full Vespa and Aprilia line-up in India BS6-compliant well before the April 1, 2020 deadline. The company intends to shift its entire production to BS6 standards by the end of the year or in early January and it will launch its first BS6 product for India as early as October 2019.
Among the launches slated for this year is an updated Vespa, which will also get a new LED headlamp, along with the addition of fuel injection. We expect to see the BS6 Aprilia models get new graphics that will probably highlight the new fuel-injected engines.
The Vespa brand has done very well for Piaggio in India, better than the company ever expected it to do. Diego Graffi, CEO and MD Piaggio Vehicles Pvt. Ltd tells us that the Vespa has been highly appreciated in India in its current shape and form. The company says that it has no intention to make any changes to the Vespa's basic design for at least the next three to five years, but it will constantly make value additions and the LED headlamp comes in line with this way of thinking.
The Vespa is currently available with 125cc and 150cc engines and prices start at Rs 73,733 (ex-showroom, Delhi) for the recently launched Urban Club. The Aprilia range, meanwhile, starts at Rs 65,000 for the newly launched Storm 125.
With the addition of fuel injection, a price hike is almost certain; but by how much remains to be seen. As a point of reference, Honda has revealed that the BS6 Activa 125 will cost 10-15 percent more than its BS4 sibling.
Azaman Chothia
Vishal Venugopal
