Staying true to the programs presented at the most recent EICMA, the Piaggio Group will start production of Vespa Elettrica in September. The long-awaited electric version of the world’s most famous scooter will be produced at the Pontedera plant in the province of Pisa, the same location where Vespa began in 1946.

The first vehicles will be ready to reserve at the beginning of October. The price will be in line with the high-end market of the current Vespa range.

Vespa Elettrica will then be gradually put on the market starting from the end of October to reach full marketing in November to coincide with the 2018 Milan EICMA show. Sales will begin in Europe to then be extended to the United States and Asia starting in early 2019.

Vespa Elettrica is the first step for the Piaggio Group in the direction of a new interconnection between vehicles and human operators. Vespa Elettrica will be ready to be fitted in the near future with solutions currently being developed for Gita, the robot currently on the drawing board at Piaggio Fast Forward in Boston (which enter production in 2019), including artificial intelligence systems that are adaptive and responsive to all human input. They will be aware of people and other vehicles operating in the vicinity, extend the operator’s ability to sense potential perils and opportunities and provide real time mapping and traffic data that contributes to improving the design of transportation infrastructures in cities.

The new generation vehicles will know their operators; recognize them without key fobs, anticipate their driving choices, interact with other devices and vehicles on the road and allow for personalization.

The Vespa brand recorded one of its most successful years; closing the first half of 2018 with a 10 percent increase in sales volumes compared the the previous year.

Link: Vespa