Vespa has turned 75-years-old. Adding to the occasion is the fact that the brand rolled out the 19 millionth scooter. It began production in 1946 at its Pontedera plant in Italy and has produced 19 million beautiful scooters since then.
As part of Vespa’s celebration, they rolled out a GTS 300 scooter as their 19 millionth Vespa Scooter. Vespa is currently sold in 83 countries with a steadily increasing growth in almost all markets. The proof of this is that Vespa sold 1,00,000 scooters in 2007 and sold double the number of scooters in 2018.
Vespa is manufactured in 3 factories on 2 different continents. The European factory is Vespa’s original Pontedera facility in Italy, which produces scooters for Europe, the Americas and all other western countries. The other two Vespa factories are in Asia.
The plant in Vinh Phuc, Vietnam manufactures Vespa scooters for their local market and other eastern markets. While the Indian plant situated in Baramati is reserved for the Indian and Nepalese markets.
Even though Vespa’s Baramati plant was opened in April 2012, Vespa entered the Indian market back in the 1960’s itself through a partnership with Bajaj Auto and through that partnership we got our iconic Bajaj Chetak.
In the 1980’s Vespa got into an alliance with LML Motors through their parent company, Piaggio. But the partnership failed to create success in the Indian market and the partnership ended in 1999 after a dispute with LML Motors and thus exiting the Indian market before re-entering in 2012.
Vespa scooters are now available in a variety of trims and limited editions. The common 125cc models available are the Urban Club, Notte and ZX whereas the 150cc models are available in VXL and SXL trims along with other top-tier limited models like the Vespa Elegante and Vespa Racing Sixties.
Thoughts On Vespa Scooters Celebrating 75 Years & 19 Million Scooters
In India, owning a Vespa is a fashion statement and it is positioned as a premium offering to Indian consumers. Vespa is an Iconic brand. It is an almost perfect blend of old-school charm and modern engineering. It is great to see the brand celebrate its heritage in style.