Piaggio & C. SpA (Piaggio ) is an Italian motor vehicle manufacturer, which produces a range of two-wheeled
motor vehicle
A motor vehicle, also known as motorized vehicle or automotive vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on Track (rail transport), rails (such as trains or trams) and is used for the transportation of pe ...
s and compact commercial vehicles under seven brands: Piaggio,
Vespa
Vespa () is an Italian luxury brand of scooter (motorcycle), scooters and mopeds manufactured by Piaggio. The name means wasp in Italian. The Vespa has evolved from a single model motor scooter manufactured in 1946 by Piaggio & Co. S.p.A. of ...
,
Gilera
Gilera is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded in Arcore in 1909 by Giuseppe Gilera (1887–1971). In 1969, the company was purchased by Piaggio.
History
In 1935, Gilera acquired rights to the Rondine four-cylinder engine. It was, at ...
,
Aprilia
Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded immediately after World War II in Noale, Italy, by Alberto Beggio. The company started as a manufacturer of bicycles and moved on to manufacture scooters and small-capacity motorcycles. ...
,
Moto Guzzi
Moto Guzzi is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer and the oldest European manufacturer in continuous motorcycle production.
Established in 1921 in Mandello del Lario, Italy, the company is noted for its historic role in Italy's motorcycling ma ...
,
Derbi
Derbi is a manufacturer of motorcycles, scooters, mopeds and recreational all-terrain vehicles produced by Nacional Motor S.A.U., a Spanish subsidiary of Piaggio & Co. SpA.
History
Derbi's origins began with a little bicycle workshop in the vi ...
, and
Scarabeo
The Scarabeo is a scooter model produced by the Italian motorcycle manufacturer Aprilia. Available in different displacements, it was first presented to the public in 1993.
Initially born as a model within the Aprilia range, today Scarabeo is a ...
. Its corporate headquarters are located in
Pontedera
Pontedera (; la, Pons Herae) is an italian comune with a population of 29.270 inhabitants, located in the province of Pisa, Tuscany, Central Italy, central Italy.
The town is located 20 km (12 miles) from Pisa and 50 km (31 miles) from Florenc ...
, Italy. The company was founded by
Rinaldo Piaggio
Rinaldo Piaggio (1864-1938) was an Italian entrepreneur, senator, and founder of Piaggio.
Career
He founded Piaggio in 1884. It originally made furniture, then switched to aviation, building the Piaggio P.108 bomber. He was elected to the pos ...
in 1884, initially producing
locomotives
A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, motor coach, railcar or power car; the u ...
and
railway carriages.
Piaggio's subsidiaries employ a total of 7,053 employees and produced a total of 519,700 vehicles in 2014.
The manufacturer has six research-and-development centers and operates in over 50 countries.
History
In 1882, Enrico Piaggio purchased land in
Sestri Ponente
Sestri Ponente is an industrial suburb of Genoa in northwest Italy. It is part of the Medio Ponente ''municipio'' of Genoa.
Geography
It is situated on the Ligurian Sea four miles to the west of the city, between Pegli and Cornigliano. Its pop ...
(
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
) to set up a timber yard. Two years later, in 1884, his 20-year-old son,
Rinaldo Piaggio
Rinaldo Piaggio (1864-1938) was an Italian entrepreneur, senator, and founder of Piaggio.
Career
He founded Piaggio in 1884. It originally made furniture, then switched to aviation, building the Piaggio P.108 bomber. He was elected to the pos ...
(1864–1938), founded Piaggio & C. The company initially built locomotives and railway carriages but in 1917, towards the end of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Rinaldo Piaggio turned to the military sector. To begin, the company produced MAS anti-
submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
motorboats,
aeroplanes
An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spectr ...
and
seaplane
A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...
s under
Ansaldo
Ansaldo Energia S.p.A. is an Italian power engineering company. It is based in Genoa, Italy. The absorbed parent company, Gio. Ansaldo & C., started in 1853. It was taken over by Leonardo S.p.A. In 2011, Leonardo S.p.A. sold 45% stake in An ...
,
Macchi
Aermacchi was an Italian aircraft manufacturer. Formerly known as Aeronautica Macchi, the company was founded in 1912 by Giulio Macchi at Varese in north-western Lombardy as Nieuport-Macchi, to build Nieuport monoplanes under licence for the Ita ...
,
Caproni
Caproni, also known as ''Società de Agostini e Caproni'' and ''Società Caproni e Comitti'', was an Italian aircraft manufacturer. Its main base of operations was at Taliedo, near Linate Airport, on the outskirts of Milan.
Founded by Giovan ...
, and
Dornier license
A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit).
A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
s but later progressed to vehicles constructed according to Piaggio's own drawings.
Between 1937 and 1939 Piaggio achieved 21 world records with its aircraft and engines built at the company's new factory in
Pontedera
Pontedera (; la, Pons Herae) is an italian comune with a population of 29.270 inhabitants, located in the province of Pisa, Tuscany, Central Italy, central Italy.
The town is located 20 km (12 miles) from Pisa and 50 km (31 miles) from Florenc ...
, culminating in the four-engine
Piaggio P.108
The Piaggio P.108 ''Bombardiere'' was an Italian four-engine heavy bomber that saw service with the Regia Aeronautica during World War II.Matricardi 2006, p. 257. The prototype first flew on 24 November 1939 and it entered service in 1941.
I ...
bomber.
Rinaldo died in 1938, by which time Piaggio was owned by multiple shareholders within the family, along with the entrepreneur
Attilio Odero
Saint Attilio, one of the legendary martyrs of the Theban Legion, is venerated as a saint in the area of Trino Vercellese, in Piedmont, north-west Italy and commemorated on 28 June. However his cult is no longer officially recognized by the Rom ...
. Management of the company passed to his sons
Enrico
Enrico is both an Italian masculine given name and a surname, Enrico means homeowner, or king, derived from ''Heinrich'' of Germanic origin. It is also a given name in Ladino. Equivalents in other languages are Henry (English), Henri ( French), Enr ...
and Armando.
By 1940 Piaggio was manufacturing trains,
nautical
Seamanship is the art, knowledge and competence of operating a ship, boat or other craft on water. The'' Oxford Dictionary'' states that seamanship is "The skill, techniques, or practice of handling a ship or boat at sea."
It involves topics a ...
fittings,
aircraft engine
An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the power component of an aircraft propulsion system. Most aircraft engines are either piston engines or gas turbines, although a few have been rocket powered and in recent years many ...
s, aeroplanes, trucks, trams, buses,
funicular
A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite en ...
s and aluminium windows and doors. The
Pontedera
Pontedera (; la, Pons Herae) is an italian comune with a population of 29.270 inhabitants, located in the province of Pisa, Tuscany, Central Italy, central Italy.
The town is located 20 km (12 miles) from Pisa and 50 km (31 miles) from Florenc ...
plant was destroyed by Allied bombing and production activities were relocated to the
Biella
Biella (; pms, Biela; la, Bugella) is a city and ''comune'' in the northern Italian region of Piedmont, the capital of the province of the same name, with a population of 44,324 as of 31 December 2017. It is located about northeast of Turin an ...
area. After the war, Enrico Piaggio decided to diversify the company's activities outside the aeronautical industry to address a perceived need for a modern, affordable mode of transport for the Italian mass market. The first attempt, based on a small
motorcycle
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...
made for
parachutists, was known as the MP5 and nicknamed the "
Paperino
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic American Pekin, white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit, sailor shi ...
" (the Italian name for
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...
) because of its strange shape. Ultimately Enrico Piaggio did not like it and asked
Corradino D'Ascanio
General Corradino D'Ascanio (1 February 1891 in Popoli, Pescara – 6 August 1981 in Pisa) was an Italian aeronautical engineer. D'Ascanio designed the first production helicopter, for Agusta, and designed the first motor scooter for Ferdin ...
to redesign it.
D'Ascanio, an aeronautical engineer responsible for the design and construction of the first modern helicopter by
Agusta
Agusta was an Italian helicopter manufacturer. It was based in Samarate, Northern Italy. The company was founded by Count Giovanni Agusta in 1923, who flew his first airplane in 1907. The MV Agusta motorcycle manufacturer began as an offshoot o ...
, was not naturally enthusiastic about
motorcycle
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...
s, judging them to be uncomfortable and bulky, with wheels that were difficult to change after a puncture. When asked to design a motorcycle for
Ferdinando Innocenti
Ferdinando Innocenti (; 1 September 1891, in Pescia, Italy – 21 June 1966, in Varese) was an Italian businessman who founded the machinery-works company Innocenti and was the creator of the Lambretta motorscooter.
Innocenti started worki ...
, D'Ascanio had come up with a step through scooter design but D'Ascanio and Innocenti disagreed over use of a pressed steel frame rather than tubular, so D'Ascanio took his design to Piaggio. Innocenti would ultimately use D'Ascanio's original design for their
Lambretta
Lambretta () is the brand name of mainly motor scooters, initially manufactured in Milan, Italy, by Innocenti.
The name is derived from the word Lambrate, the suburb of Milan named after the river Lambro which flows through the area, and wher ...
scooter.
Piaggio asked D'Ascanio to create a simple, robust and affordable vehicle. The
motorcycle
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...
had to be easy to drive for both men and women, be able to carry a passenger, and not get its driver's clothes dirty. The engineer's drawings proved a significant departure from the Paperino. With the help of
Mario D'Este he prepared the first Vespa project, manufactured at Piaggio newly-rebuilt Pontedera headquarters in April 1946. Piaggio launched the
Vespa
Vespa () is an Italian luxury brand of scooter (motorcycle), scooters and mopeds manufactured by Piaggio. The name means wasp in Italian. The Vespa has evolved from a single model motor scooter manufactured in 1946 by Piaggio & Co. S.p.A. of ...
(Italian for "wasp") and within ten years more than a million units had been produced. The Italian language gained a new word, "vespare", meaning to go somewhere on a Vespa.
Ownership
![Vespa a Todi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Vespa_a_Todi.JPG)
Vespa thrived until 1992 when
Giovanni Alberto Agnelli
Giovanni "Giovannino" Alberto Agnelli (April 19, 1964 – December 13, 1997) was an Italian businessman and member of the Agnelli family, an Italian industrial dynasty associated with Fiat. Agnelli's father was politician and industrialist Umber ...
, son of Antonella Bechi Piaggio and Umberto Agnelli, became CEO. Agnelli was very successful in expanding production and modernising the offer. He died unexpectedly of cancer in 1997, aged 33. In 1999
Morgan Grenfell Private Equity
Morgan, Grenfell & Co. was a leading London-based investment bank regarded as one of the oldest and once most influential British merchant banks. It had its origins in a merchant banking business commenced by George Peabody. Junius Spencer Morgan ...
acquired Piaggio, but hopes for a quick sale were dashed by a failed joint venture in China. In Italy, Piaggio invested 15 million euros ($19.4 million) in a new motorcycle but dropped it after building a prototype. By the end of 2002, the company had run up 577 million Euros in debt on revenues of 945 million Euros, and booked a loss of 129 million Euros.
In 2003 Piaggio's debt was reduced by a 100 million Euro investment made by
IMMSI, a holding company of the Colaninno family. 150 million shares were also converted by creditor banks. Reflecting on his investment,
Roberto Colaninno
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
said,
"A lot of people told me I was crazy. Piaggio wasn't dying. It just needed to be treated better.""
Colaninno became the new chairman of Piaggio, while Dr. Rocco Sabelli becoming the managing director. Sabelli redesigned the production line according to Japanese principles so that every Piaggio scooter could be made on any assembly line. Contrary to expectations, Mr. Colaninno did not fire a single worker—a move which helped seduce the company's skeptical unions. "Everyone in a company is part of the value chain," said Colaninno. All bonuses for blue-collar workers and management were based on the same criteria: profit margins and customer satisfaction. Air conditioning was installed in the factory for the first time, increasing productivity. He also gave the company's engineers, who had been idled by the company's financial crisis, deadlines for projects. They rolled out two world firsts in 2004: a gas-electric hybrid scooter and a sophisticated tilting scooter with two wheels in front and one in back to grip the road better.
One of Piaggio's problems Mr. Colaninno couldn't fix from the inside was its scale. Even though Piaggio was the European market leader, it was dwarfed by rivals
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
and
Yamaha Yamaha may refer to:
* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below).
** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...
. A year after restoring Piaggio's health, Colaninno directed Piaggio's takeover of the Italian scooter and motorcycle manufacturer
Aprilia
Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded immediately after World War II in Noale, Italy, by Alberto Beggio. The company started as a manufacturer of bicycles and moved on to manufacture scooters and small-capacity motorcycles. ...
, and with it the Aprilia-owned
Moto Guzzi
Moto Guzzi is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer and the oldest European manufacturer in continuous motorcycle production.
Established in 1921 in Mandello del Lario, Italy, the company is noted for its historic role in Italy's motorcycling ma ...
, a storied Italian manufacturer of motorcycles.
In 2006, Piaggio floated on the
Milan Stock Exchange
Borsa Italiana, based in Milan, is the Italian stock exchange. It manages and organises domestic market, regulating procedures for admission and listing of companies and intermediaries and supervising disclosures for listed companies.italy24.ils ...
, becoming a public company.
Production
In 1956, with production of the millionth
Vespa
Vespa () is an Italian luxury brand of scooter (motorcycle), scooters and mopeds manufactured by Piaggio. The name means wasp in Italian. The Vespa has evolved from a single model motor scooter manufactured in 1946 by Piaggio & Co. S.p.A. of ...
scooter, Italy had its first mass-produced motorised vehicle. Taking advantage of increased cash flow thanks to the success of the Vespa, Piaggio developed other products, including the 1957
Vespa 400
The Vespa 400 is a rear-engined microcar, produced by ACMA in Fourchambault, France, from 1957 until 1961 to the designs of the Italian Piaggio company. Three different versions were sold, the "Luxe" , "Tourisme" and "GT".
Overview
The car ma ...
, a compact passenger car.
In 1959 Piaggio came under the control of the
Agnelli family
The Agnelli family () is an Italian multi-industry business dynasty founded by Giovanni Agnelli, one of the original founders of the Fiat motor company which became Italy's largest automobile manufacturer. They are also primarily known for other ...
, the owners of car maker
Fiat SpA
Fiat S.p.A., or ''Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino'' (Italian Automobile Factory of Turin), was an Italian holding company whose original and core activities were in the automotive industry, and that was succeeded by Fiat Chrysler Automobi ...
.
By 1960 Vespa had produced and sold 4 million units worldwide.
In 1964 the aeronautical and motorcycle divisions of Piaggio split to become two independent companies as a result of the wide ownership by Fiat in Italian industry. The aeronautical division was named IAM Rinaldo Piaggio. The aircraft company
Piaggio Aero
Piaggio Aerospace, formerly Piaggio Aero Industries, is a Multinational corporation, multinational aerospace manufacturing company headquartered in Villanova d'Albenga, Italy. The company designs, develops, manufactures and maintains aircraft, ...
was controlled by the family of Piero Ferrari, who still hold 10% of
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
.
In 1969 Piaggio purchased the motorcycle company
Gilera
Gilera is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded in Arcore in 1909 by Giuseppe Gilera (1887–1971). In 1969, the company was purchased by Piaggio.
History
In 1935, Gilera acquired rights to the Rondine four-cylinder engine. It was, at ...
, one of the oldest European motorcycle manufacturers (founded in 1909), famous for its sporting achievements and world titles in the
Motorcycle World Championship
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising, ...
.
In 1971 a steering wheel was added to the
Piaggio Ape
The Piaggio Ape (; is ), initially marketed as VespaCar or TriVespa, is a three-wheeled light commercial vehicle, manufactured and marketed by Piaggio as an adaption of the company's Vespa scooter ( being Italian for 'wasp' instead). It is in co ...
, a model first produced in 1948, culminating in the Ape Car. Four years later, in 1975, the company made the first prototype of an electric Ape.
In 1988 the Vespa reached the milestone of 10 million units produced.
In 1996, on the fiftieth anniversary of the first model,
Vespa
Vespa () is an Italian luxury brand of scooter (motorcycle), scooters and mopeds manufactured by Piaggio. The name means wasp in Italian. The Vespa has evolved from a single model motor scooter manufactured in 1946 by Piaggio & Co. S.p.A. of ...
passed 15 million units produced and the new 4-stroke Vespa ET, the first completely new Vespa for 18 years, was launched. Piaggio was still in poor financial health but its brand recognition remained strong, boosted by the appearance of the ET4 in several Hollywood films.
In 1999, in
Baramati
Baramati ( aːɾamət̪iː is a city, a tehsil and a municipal council in Pune district in the state of Maharashtra, India. The city is about 100 KM (62 miles) southeast of the city of Pune and about 250 KM from Mumbai.
Baramati is located ...
, production began on a three-wheeler Ape for the
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n domestic market.
In 2000 Piaggio and Vespa returned to the United States with the opening of the first Vespa Boutique in Los Angeles. In that same year the Piaggio Historical Museum was inaugurated in
Pontedera
Pontedera (; la, Pons Herae) is an italian comune with a population of 29.270 inhabitants, located in the province of Pisa, Tuscany, Central Italy, central Italy.
The town is located 20 km (12 miles) from Pisa and 50 km (31 miles) from Florenc ...
. The museum showcases the Piaggio Historical Archive, one of the most comprehensive company archives on the industrial history of Italy.
In 2001 the Piaggio Group acquired Derbi-Nacional Motor SA, an historical Spanish brand founded in 1922 that had won 18 world titles and was a continental leader in the small displacement motorbike segment. In the same year
Gilera
Gilera is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded in Arcore in 1909 by Giuseppe Gilera (1887–1971). In 1969, the company was purchased by Piaggio.
History
In 1935, Gilera acquired rights to the Rondine four-cylinder engine. It was, at ...
returned to the
Motorcycle World Championship
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising, ...
and immediately won the world title in the 125 category with Manuel Poggiali.
In 2004, at the end of December, the final contract for the acquisition of the
Aprilia
Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded immediately after World War II in Noale, Italy, by Alberto Beggio. The company started as a manufacturer of bicycles and moved on to manufacture scooters and small-capacity motorcycles. ...
-
Moto Guzzi Group
Moto, Motos or MOTO may refer to:
Business
* Moto Hospitality, a chain of motorway service stations in the United Kingdom
* Moto Gold Mines, an exploration and mining company acquired by Randgold Resources
* Moto (restaurant), a restaurant in Ch ...
was signed. The most important European two-wheeler group is born.
In 2007 Piaggio Group officially arrives in
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
. The Vinh Phuc plant includes R&D, welding and painting activities, as well as final assembly of the scooters, with warehouse, testing, quality control and office areas.
In 2009 the Piaggio Mp3 Hybrid makes its debut on the market which was first hybrid scooter in the world, integrating the conventional low-environmental-impact internal combustion engine with a zero-emission electric motor and combining the advantages of the two power trains.
In
Baramati
Baramati ( aːɾamət̪iː is a city, a tehsil and a municipal council in Pune district in the state of Maharashtra, India. The city is about 100 KM (62 miles) southeast of the city of Pune and about 250 KM from Mumbai.
Baramati is located ...
(State of
Maharashtra
Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
), in 2012, the Piaggio Group's new plant for the production of Vespa's for the local market was opened.
In 2013 the PADC – Piaggio Advanced Design Center opened in
Pasadena
Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district.
Its ...
(California, United States). The Vespa 946 was also launched this year, along with the new Vespa Primavera, the latest evolution of the "small body" family.
In 2013 Vespa's worldwide sales numbered almost 190,000 units; in 2004 the figure stood at 58,000. In ten years of continuous progression over 1.3 million new Vespas have reached the streets of the world. Since 1946 over 18 million Vespas have been produced and sold.
In September 2017 Foton and Piaggio agreed to form a joint venture to develop and produce light commercial vehicle. Based on Foton chassis the new vehicle was sold by
Piaggio Commercial Vehicle division in Europe and in all markets around the world but not in China. The vehicle is intended to be a successor of the
Piaggio Porter
The Piaggio Porter is a cab over microvan and pick-up produced and sold by the Italian company Piaggio since 1992 under the ''Piaggio Commercial Vehicle'' brand.
First generation (1992)
Development
The collaboration project between Piaggio and ...
and production was planned to start in mid-2019 in
Pontedera
Pontedera (; la, Pons Herae) is an italian comune with a population of 29.270 inhabitants, located in the province of Pisa, Tuscany, Central Italy, central Italy.
The town is located 20 km (12 miles) from Pisa and 50 km (31 miles) from Florenc ...
(
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
) with all components produced by Foton in China.
"Cultural Project" Piaggio
Piaggio's "cultural project" promotes the reconstruction and enhancement of the company's heritage and is composed by three initiatives: the Piaggio Foundation, the Historical Archives and the Piaggio Museum. In 2003 the Museum and Archives were recognised as the Best Corporate Museum and Archive by winning the Italian prize "Premio Impresa e Cultura".
In 2016, under the patronage of the
Italian Ministry of Culture
The Ministry of Culture ( it, Ministero della Cultura - MiC) is the ministry of the Government of Italy in charge of national museums and the ''monuments historiques''. MiC's headquarters are located in the historic Collegio Romano Palace (via ...
, Piaggio received the
Corporate Art Award from
pptArt
The Corporate Art Awards are the international awards for the best art projects developed by the business world. They were launched in Rome (Italy) in 2016 by pptArt under the patronage of the Italian Ministry of Culture and with the support of th ...
for its Corporate Museum.
Brands and models
Group brands
*
Aprilia
Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded immediately after World War II in Noale, Italy, by Alberto Beggio. The company started as a manufacturer of bicycles and moved on to manufacture scooters and small-capacity motorcycles. ...
– motorcycles,
scooter and
moped
A moped ( ) is a type of small motorcycle, generally having a less stringent licensing requirement than full motorcycles or automobiles. The term used to mean a similar vehicle except with both bicycle pedals and a motorcycle engine. Mopeds typic ...
s
*Piaggio – scooters, mopeds.
*
Vespa
Vespa () is an Italian luxury brand of scooter (motorcycle), scooters and mopeds manufactured by Piaggio. The name means wasp in Italian. The Vespa has evolved from a single model motor scooter manufactured in 1946 by Piaggio & Co. S.p.A. of ...
– scooters and mopeds
*
Scarabeo
The Scarabeo is a scooter model produced by the Italian motorcycle manufacturer Aprilia. Available in different displacements, it was first presented to the public in 1993.
Initially born as a model within the Aprilia range, today Scarabeo is a ...
– scooters and mopeds
*
Derbi
Derbi is a manufacturer of motorcycles, scooters, mopeds and recreational all-terrain vehicles produced by Nacional Motor S.A.U., a Spanish subsidiary of Piaggio & Co. SpA.
History
Derbi's origins began with a little bicycle workshop in the vi ...
– motorcycles, scooters, mopeds and recreational
ATVs (''quads'')
*
Gilera
Gilera is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded in Arcore in 1909 by Giuseppe Gilera (1887–1971). In 1969, the company was purchased by Piaggio.
History
In 1935, Gilera acquired rights to the Rondine four-cylinder engine. It was, at ...
– motorcycles, scooters, mopeds and recreational
ATVs (''quads'')
*
Laverda
Laverda (''Moto Laverda S.A.S. – Dottore Francesco Laverda e fratelli'') was an Italian manufacturer of high performance motorcycles. The motorcycles in their day gained a reputation for being robust and innovative.
The Laverda brand was abso ...
– motorcycles
*
Moto Guzzi
Moto Guzzi is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer and the oldest European manufacturer in continuous motorcycle production.
Established in 1921 in Mandello del Lario, Italy, the company is noted for its historic role in Italy's motorcycling ma ...
– motorcycles
*
Piaggio Commercial Vehicles –
light commercial vehicle
A light commercial vehicle (LCV) in the European Union, Australia and New Zealand is a commercial carrier vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of no more than 3.5 metric tons (tonnes). The LCV designation is also occasionally used in both Canad ...
s
Vehicle
Current production
2-wheels vehicle
*
Piaggio Fly
The Piaggio Fly is a scooter (vehicle), scooter produced by italian motorcycle manufacturer Piaggio from 2004 to 2017 to replace the Piaggio Sfera, Sfera and Piaggio Skipper, Skipper models.
It was also sold by the Spanish company Derbi (control ...
(Asian market)
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Piaggio Beverly
The Piaggio Beverly is an open motorcycle produced by the Italian vehicle manufacturer Piaggio.
Model history
Introduced in 2001, the Piaggio Beverly has been produced in engine sizes ranging from 125 to 500 cc. Early models were powered by Pi ...
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Piaggio Liberty
The Piaggio Liberty is a two-wheeled scooter from the Italian manufacturer Piaggio.
The first Liberty was built in 1997, then it has been restyled first in 2004 and then in 2009. It is a popular scooter in post office businesses around middle euro ...
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Piaggio Medley
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Piaggio Vespa
Vespa () is an Italian luxury brand of scooters and mopeds manufactured by Piaggio. The name means wasp in Italian. The Vespa has evolved from a single model motor scooter manufactured in 1946 by Piaggio & Co. S.p.A. of Pontedera, Italy to ...
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Piaggio Zip
The Piaggio Zip is a scooter that is manufactured by Piaggio. All Zip models have a CVT automatic transmission, sometimes referred to as a twist & go transmission due to its lack of gears and use of an automatic centrifugal clutch, sharing severa ...
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Piaggio X7
The Piaggio X7 is a scooter model produced by the Italian motorcycle manufacturer Piaggio.
European version
The X7 was produced between 2007 and 2012 with water-cooled engines with 125 cm³, 250 cm³, 300 cm³ and 400 cm³ displacement. It has la ...
(Asian market)
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Piaggio 1
The Piaggio 1 is an electric motorcycle produced by the Italian manufacturer Piaggio.
History
Announced on social network TikTok in the spring of
2021 with the name Piaggio One the vehicle is presented in world premiere at the Beijing Auto Sho ...
3-wheels vehicle
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Piaggio MP3
The Piaggio MP3 (''Moto Piaggio a 3 ruote'', "Piaggio moto with 3 wheels") is a tilting three-wheeled scooter by Italian manufacturer Piaggio. First marketed in 2006, it is noted for its combination of two front wheels and a single rear wheel.
...
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Piaggio Ape
The Piaggio Ape (; is ), initially marketed as VespaCar or TriVespa, is a three-wheeled light commercial vehicle, manufactured and marketed by Piaggio as an adaption of the company's Vespa scooter ( being Italian for 'wasp' instead). It is in co ...
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Piaggio MyMoover
Commercial vehicles
![Piaggio_Porter_NP6_IMG_5961](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Piaggio_Porter_NP6_IMG_5961.jpg)
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Piaggio Porter
The Piaggio Porter is a cab over microvan and pick-up produced and sold by the Italian company Piaggio since 1992 under the ''Piaggio Commercial Vehicle'' brand.
First generation (1992)
Development
The collaboration project between Piaggio and ...
Discontinued
2-wheels vehicle
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Piaggio Boss
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Piaggio Boxer
The Piaggio Boxer is a moped produced by the Italian manufacturer Piaggio.
History
The '' first series '' of the Boxer was built using the underseat as a tank (plastic tank), it had 18-inch high wheels and a small single-seater saddle. Long sa ...
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Piaggio Bravo
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Piaggio Carnaby
Piaggio & C. SpA (Piaggio ) is an Italian motor vehicle manufacturer, which produces a range of two-wheeled motor vehicles and compact commercial vehicles under seven brands: Piaggio, Vespa, Gilera, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, Derbi, and Scarabeo. Its ...
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Piaggio Ciao
The Piaggio Ciao (''ciao'' means "hi" or "bye" in Italian) is a family of moped produced by Piaggio from 1967 through 2006.
Specification
It has a rigid rear, and a leading-link front suspension. Some models include a sprung seat-post. The engin ...
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Piaggio Cosa
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Piaggio Diesis
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Piaggio Free
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Piaggio Grande
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Piaggio Grillo
Piaggio & C. SpA (Piaggio ) is an Italian motor vehicle manufacturer, which produces a range of two-wheeled motor vehicles and compact commercial vehicles under seven brands: Piaggio, Vespa, Gilera, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, Derbi, and Scarabeo. I ...
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Piaggio Hexagon
The Piaggio Hexagon is a scooter produced by the Italian motorcycle manufacturer Piaggio from the end of 1994 to 2003 in the Pontedera plant.
Description
It was the first scooter with an engine capacity exceeding 50 cc produced by this compan ...
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Piaggio NRG
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Piaggio Quartz
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Piaggio Scatto
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Piaggio Sfera
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Piaggio Skipper
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Piaggio Si
The Piaggio Sì is a moped produced by the Italian manufacturer Piaggio.
It received homologation on 20 November 1978 and was presented in Genoa on 1 February 1979.
In the North American market it was sold by the American division of Piaggio, t ...
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Piaggio Toledo
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Piaggio Typhoon
Piaggio & C. SpA (Piaggio ) is an Italian motor vehicle manufacturer, which produces a range of two-wheeled motor vehicles and compact commercial vehicles under seven brands: Piaggio, Vespa, Gilera, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, Derbi, and Scarabeo. Its ...
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Piaggio Vespino
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Piaggio Velofax
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Piaggio X7
The Piaggio X7 is a scooter model produced by the Italian motorcycle manufacturer Piaggio.
European version
The X7 was produced between 2007 and 2012 with water-cooled engines with 125 cm³, 250 cm³, 300 cm³ and 400 cm³ displacement. It has la ...
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Piaggio X8
The Piaggio X8 is an Italian-made motor cycle, released in 2004 and available in 125 cc, 150 cc (Street Version), 250 cc, and 400 engine sizes by Piaggio. It has now been replaced by the Piaggio Xevo.
X8 250 cc
Now with a fue ...
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Piaggio X9
The Piaggio X9 is a scooter produced by the Italian motorcycle manufacturer Piaggio from the end of 2000 to 2009 in the Pontedera
Pontedera (; la, Pons Herae) is an italian comune with a population of 29.270 inhabitants, located in the provinc ...
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Piaggio X10
Piaggio & C. SpA (Piaggio ) is an Italian motor vehicle manufacturer, which produces a range of two-wheeled motor vehicles and compact commercial vehicles under seven brands: Piaggio, Vespa, Gilera, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, Derbi, and Scarabeo. Its ...
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Piaggio Xevo
The Piaggio XEvo is a series of scooters produced by Italian manufacturer Piaggio. The line shares various components and design, and sporting different engines sizes of 125 cc, 250 cc and 400 cc, and is a direct development of t ...
3-wheels vehicle
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Piaggio Ciao Porter
Commercial vehicle
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Piaggio Quargo
The Piaggio Quargo is a commercial vehicle produced by Piaggio from 2004 to 2016 and part of the category of heavy quadricycles, designed to replace the Ape Poker.
Context
Made on the same base as the Piaggio Porter, from which it takes up th ...
All-terrain vehicles
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Piaggio Trackmaster (rebadged
Arctic Cat
Arctic Cat is an American brand of snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles manufactured in Thief River Falls, Minnesota. The company was formed in 1960 and is now part of Textron Inc. Arctic Cat designs, engineers, manufactures and markets all-terr ...
TRV)
Quadricycle
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Piaggio M500
Piaggio & C. SpA (Piaggio ) is an Italian motor vehicle manufacturer, which produces a range of two-wheeled motor vehicles and compact commercial vehicles under seven brands: Piaggio, Vespa, Gilera, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, Derbi, and Scarabeo. Its ...
(rebadged
Casalini
Casalini (founded in 1939 by Giovanni Casalini), is an Italian company that makes mopeds and microcars. Casalini S.R.l. is the oldest microcar producer in the world. The factory is situated in Piacenza.
The current range of Casalini microcar ...
Ydea)
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Piaggio AL500 (rebadged
Grecav
Grecav is an Italian automobile and farm machinery manufacturer from Gonzaga, province of Mantua. The company produces, among other things, light motor vehicles. The company was founded in 1964 by Cav. Bruno Grespan (current President) through t ...
Eke)
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Piaggio PK500
Piaggio & C. SpA (Piaggio ) is an Italian motor vehicle manufacturer, which produces a range of two-wheeled motor vehicles and compact commercial vehicles under seven brands: Piaggio, Vespa, Gilera, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, Derbi, and Scarabeo. ...
(rebadged
Grecav
Grecav is an Italian automobile and farm machinery manufacturer from Gonzaga, province of Mantua. The company produces, among other things, light motor vehicles. The company was founded in 1964 by Cav. Bruno Grespan (current President) through t ...
Eke Pick-up)
Aircraft engines (1920-1950)
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Piaggio P.VI
Piaggio & C. SpA (Piaggio ) is an Italian motor vehicle manufacturer, which produces a range of two-wheeled motor vehicles and compact commercial vehicles under seven brands: Piaggio, Vespa, Gilera, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, Derbi, and Scarabeo. I ...
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Piaggio P.VII
The Piaggio Stella P.VII was the first P series aircraft engine produced by Rinaldo Piaggio S.p.A. Based on its experience license-producing the Gnome-Rhône 7K, Piaggio sold the engine to be used on a wide range of Italian aircraft before and du ...
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Piaggio P.VIII
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Piaggio P.IX
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Piaggio P.X
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Piaggio P.XI
The Piaggio P.XI was an Italian 14-cylinder radial aircraft engine. The P.XI was a licensed derivative of the French Gnome-Rhône Mistral Major 14K produced in Italy.Gunston 1989, p.110. Isotta Fraschini also produced a version of the 14K cal ...
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Piaggio P.XII
The Piaggio P.XII is an Italian 18-cylinder radial aircraft engine developed in the 1930s by Rinaldo Piaggio S.p.A. The P.XII was two Piaggio P.X engines in tandem, which were versions of the French Gnome-Rhône 9K ''Mistral'' made under licens ...
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Piaggio P.XV
Electric scooters
The new
plug-in hybrid
A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is a hybrid electric vehicle whose battery pack can be recharged by plugging a charging cable into an external electric power source, in addition to internally by its on-board internal combustion engin ...
version of the
Piaggio MP3
The Piaggio MP3 (''Moto Piaggio a 3 ruote'', "Piaggio moto with 3 wheels") is a tilting three-wheeled scooter by Italian manufacturer Piaggio. First marketed in 2006, it is noted for its combination of two front wheels and a single rear wheel.
...
will be equipped with a 125 cc petrol engine and electric motor, which offers about and travels using battery power alone. This machine could be out in 2009.
Piaggio/Vespa are also developing hybrid electric scooters. There are two models in the works, based on the popular
Vespa LX 50 and the beefier
Piaggio X8
The Piaggio X8 is an Italian-made motor cycle, released in 2004 and available in 125 cc, 150 cc (Street Version), 250 cc, and 400 engine sizes by Piaggio. It has now been replaced by the Piaggio Xevo.
X8 250 cc
Now with a fue ...
125.
At the Beijing Motor Show 2021, Piaggio unveiled the brand new electric scooter
Piaggio 1
The Piaggio 1 is an electric motorcycle produced by the Italian manufacturer Piaggio.
History
Announced on social network TikTok in the spring of
2021 with the name Piaggio One the vehicle is presented in world premiere at the Beijing Auto Sho ...
. This model was produced in three versione: 1 base, 1+ and 1 Active.
The 1 base has a 1.4 kWh and 48V battery, a 1.2 kW engine, a torque of 85 Nm, a maximum speed of 45 km/h (it is therefore approved as a moped) and a range of 55 km.
The 1+ version differs in the battery that rises to 2.3 kWh and the autonomy that reaches 100 kilometers.
The 1 Active model has the same 2.3 kWh battery, but the engine has a maximum power of 2 kW, the torque goes to 95 Nm and the speed rises to 60 km/h (motorcycle homologation), the average range is 85 km.
For all versions the charging times are 6 hours.
References
External links
Piaggio official websitePiaggio Commercial VehiclesPiaggio Museum - Museo Piaggio
{{Authority control
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1884
1884 establishments in Italy
Companies listed on the Borsa Italiana
Motorcycle manufacturers of Italy
Aircraft manufacturers of Italy
Aircraft engine manufacturers of Italy
Scooter manufacturers
Moped manufacturers
Plug-in hybrid vehicles
Private equity portfolio companies
Companies based in Tuscany
Engine manufacturers of Italy