Piaggio Group has confirmed that it will start the production of Vespa Elettrica electric scooter from September 2018. The Italian lifestyle brand will manufacture the Elettrica at the Pontedera plant and bookings for the European markets will be open from October. The company has also confirmed that the Elettrica sales in Asia will start in early 2019.
Ashish Yakhmi, Business Head, Piaggio India had previously confirmed that the company is keen to bring e-scooters in India. "We're ready with the technology for two-wheelers and four-wheelers as well," Yakhmi told to PTI in June.
With the latest announcement from Piaggio about the rollout of Elettrica, the India launch is expected in the first quarter of 2019. It also needs to be noted that Piaggio showcased the Elettrica at the Auto Expo 2018 in February hinting at the interest of bringing the e-scooter in India as early as possible.
Vespa Elettrica retains the retro-classic looks of the brand and it is based on the Vespa VX range. The electric heart under the seat continuous power of 2kW and peak power of 4kW. Combined with a torque of over 20Nm, the e-scooter will provide a performance superior to that of a traditional 50cc scooter, according to Vespa.
Vespa Elettrica is completely silent and the company confirms a maximum range of 100 km. The modern lithium-ion battery and an efficient energy recovery system (KERS, Kinetic Energy Recovery System), which recharges when decelerating will complement the motor to provide maximum range. The time required for a full charge is 4 hours.
In line with the brand's philosophy, the Vespa Elettrica will be feature-packed. The Ride-by-Wire electronic accelerator controls the output from the mill while there are two riding modes (Eco and Power), in addition to the Reverse mode for easier handling of the scooter.
The Elettrica will also boast Vespa Multimedia Platform, the system that connects the smartphone to the vehicle. The interface also incorporates a digital instrument panel with a 4.3-inch colour TFT display.
Vespa Elettrica will compete with the likes of the Ather S450, Okinawa Praise, and the Twenty-Two Motors Flow e-scooters in India.
