Piaggio Vehicles Pvt Ltd (PVPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Italy’s Piaggio Group, is planning to invest Rs 50 crore in this calendar year for R&D in India.
“We are trying to innovate across the board, and this investment would be made especially for two- and three-wheelers. This would be for both passenger and cargo vehicles,” Piaggio India Chief Executive Officer Stefano Pelle told Business Line in an interaction.
This investment does not include R&D for two-wheelers.
The company, which already had one-third of the total market share in the country, expects a “healthy” increase in sales and marketshare following the investments in R&D. He, however, declined to provide the number of vehicles it expects to sell in India in 2015, putting it only as a “few thousand” more.
PVPL, which has nearly 2,500 people employed in India, has so far invested more than Rs 1,000 crore in India over the last 15 years. The investments were made for plants and machineries.
NEW FACELIFT
On Monday, the manufacturer of light transportation vehicles launched its new Ape Xtra Dlx model, replacing its existing Ape Xtra. The three-wheeler is being launched with a series of enhancements in style and functionality.
At present, the company has seven models in the three-wheeler market.
The company, which sells most of its vehicles in the western and southern regions, plans to launch at least two refreshed three-wheeler models in the next couple of months.