Piaggio Vehicles, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Italy’s Piaggio & CSpA, will launch two small commercial vehicles by March-end. It expects to export about 50,000 units of its new three-wheeler.

“We are coming out with two new products in the four-wheeler category, one a half-tonne and the other a one-tonne vehicle. The market is growing, and we will share that market with existing players,” Piaggio India Chairman and Managing Director Ravi Chopra said.

The company will replace its existing four-wheeler ‘Ape Mini’ in the half-tonne category with the new launch. “The new vehicles will be similar to the ones we make in Italy,” he said, but did not divulge further details.

On Tuesday, the company launched a three-wheeler passenger vehicle, Ape City, powered by alternative fuels. The new range will run on LPG, CNG and petrol. The engine has been developed specifically for India, said Piaggio.

The company expects to export about 50,000 units of Ape City to Africa and Latin America, as well as to neighbouring countries including Sri Lanka within the next 18-24 months. The total export market for the category stands at about three lakh units.

“Of the total 1.5 lakh units (per year) sold in the country, our target is to capture 15-20 per cent of the total domestic market share during this calendar year, and then progressively increase it,” Chopra said.

Piaggio, which already has a 36 per cent market share in the Indian market, expects the segment to grow at 5-7 per cent.

On the new Vespa (two-wheeler), he said the brand is doing well, though it is not positioned for the mass market.

rajesh.kurup@thehindu.co.in

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