Vespa's re-entry: Can it win over India this time?

The iconic Vesap scooter is re-entering India and this time its under the original owner ��" the Italian 2 wheeler major Piaggio, reports CNBC-TV18 Swati Khandelwal Jain.

Having travelled through a 100 countries and selling over 17 million units globally till date, the question now is can Europe's most popular scooter win over the discerning Indian customer?

From Audrey Hepburn to Julia Roberts the retro-styled Vespa has been one of Hollywood's favourite rides down the years Infact, even now it is still Europe's best selling scooter with global sales also at a pacy 1,50,000 units in 2011.

The Vespa LX 125 now drives into India and it is priced at Rs 66,661 ex-showroom Maharashtra. The scooter is positioned at the premium-end and is 15-20% more expensive than competitors like Honda Activa, Suzuki Access and Mahindra Duro.

But, considering this is in a way Vespa's third debut in India, having had outings with Bajaj Auto and later with LML in the past, this time the management feels they have the pulse of the Indian consumer right.

Ravi Chopra, chairman and managing director, Piaggio Vehicles: "For India it is targeted for up market premium scooter with strong brand and appeal. It will be a success story in India and will do well. The 2.5 million scooter market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20% over the coming years. We see Vespa playing a big role there and lot of potential."

The Vespa will be 100% localised and the company aims to bring more products into the market. "We will be bringing in more products, scooters and motorcycles. We have a 50cc to 1400cc range and will bring what fits best for indian market," he added.

With investments of 30 million euros, the company has set up a plant at Baramati with a capacity of 1,50,000 units per annum, this is expected to double by 2013 with additional investments of 20 million euros.

As far as marketing plans are concerned, the company is setting up 50 dealerships across 35 cities which constitute 60-70% of the total scooter market in India.