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Italian two- and three-wheeler major Piaggio Vehicles has received BS-VI compliance certification for its three-wheeler CNG engine from Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) and it expects its entire product portfolio to be upgraded to the new technology by the year-end, a top company official said.
The new vehicle norms, Bharat Stage-VI (BS-VI), are to come into place from April 1 next year and the domestic auto industry has been gearing up for its seamless implementation.
Read also: Piaggio eyes recovery in demand from second half of this year
Piaggio Vehicles India is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Italy’s Piaggio Group. Besides selling the iconic Vespa and Aprilia brands of scooters, it is also a leading player in the diesel three-wheeler segment.
“We have received the certification for our BS-VI CNG engine from ARAI on September 25, much ahead of the schedule. It has made us the first player in the segment to get such a certification in the run-up to the BS-VI implementation.
“We will soon start production for alternative fuel segment and subsequently launch the product as well,” Piaggio Vehicles India Managing Director and Chief Executive Diego Graffi told PTI.
The Pune-based ARAI is the automotive testing body, affiliated to the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.
Graffi said the company is in the process of getting BS-VI compliance certification for the diesel engine and two-wheelers as well, which are expected to come by October-November, adding that transition across products and engine will be completed before the year-end.
BS-VI transition
“We started our preparations for BS-VI norms at least two-and-half-years ago. Therefore, we are much ahead of the April 2020 deadline and well-placed for the transition,” he said.
He said the company is investing ₹350 crore in its commercial vehicle business alone and as much as 50 per cent of these funds would go into implementation of the new engine technology.
“We have validated a three-year investment plan (2019-21) of around ₹350 crore only related to commercial vehicles and half of that is for BS-VI compliance. Besides, we are also investing around ₹100 crore in our two-wheelers,” he said.
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