The Hindu Business Line : Piaggio 3-wheeler on the fast track

PIAGGIO'S three-wheeler - Ape - has penetrated deep into the Indian market and more than 1.5 lakh vehicles have been sold so far since 1999, according to Mr Ashutosh Khosla, the national sales manager.

At a press meet here, Mr Khosla said that the 1,54,000th vehicle would be handed over to a customer here on Saturday morning. Piaggio had a market share of 57 per cent in the cargo three-wheeler segment in the country and 80 per cent in Andhra Pradesh.

``We are concentrating mainly on the cargo segment and we are the leaders. We are also selling passenger vehicles, but it is not our priority. We have an 11 per cent share in the passenger segment,'' Mr Khosla said.

He said the company had introduced the concept of customised cargo vehicles to the Indian market, going beyond the standard delivery and pick-up vans. The company's vehicles had been custom-made to suit a wide variety of applications — dairies, poultries, bakeries, LPG distribution, milk and water transportation, mobile retail shops and a number of municipal applications.

He said Piaggio was developing a range of new products - three-wheelers and four-wheelers - which would be launched during the current year. The new vehicles would be useful for selling coffee and tea and for disposal of bio-medical waste.

The company had built up a network of 300 sales and service centres across the country. The vehicles were competitively priced in the range of Rs 1,09,000 to Rs 1,21,000.

He said so far 42,000 vehicles had been sold in Andhra Pradesh.

Mr K. Ranga Rao, the local dealer, said the response to the vehicle was good, especially from the rural areas.

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