Piaggio
| Industry | Motor vehicles |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1884 |
| Founder | Rinaldo Piaggio |
| Headquarters | Pontedera , Italy |
Area served | Worldwide (presence in more than 50 countries) |
Key people | Roberto Colaninno (chairman), Rocco Sabelli (managing director) |
| Products | Two-wheeled motorbikes, small commercial vehicles |
Number of employees | 7,053 (2014) |
| Website | www |
Overview
Piaggio Group ([ˈpjaddʒo]) represents a prominent Italian manufacturer specializing in motor vehicles, offering a diverse lineup of two-wheeled motorbikes and small commercial vehicles across five distinguished brands: Piaggio, Vespa, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, and Derbi. The company’s main office is situated in Pontedera, Italy. Established in 1884 by Rinaldo Piaggio, the firm initially focused on producing locomotives and railway carriages.
At present, Piaggio Group’s subsidiaries collectively employ 7,053 individuals and reported a production volume of 519,700 vehicles in 2014.[1] The organization maintains six dedicated research and development facilities and maintains a presence in more than 50 nations worldwide.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name
History
In 1882, Enrico Piaggio acquired a plot of land in Sestri Ponente near Genoa to establish a timber yard. Two years later, in 1884, his son Rinaldo Piaggio (1864–1938), then 20 years old, founded Piaggio & C. Initially, the company specialized in manufacturing locomotives and railway carriages. By 1917, as World War I was drawing to a close, Rinaldo shifted the company’s focus towards the military industry. Piaggio began producing MAS anti-submarine motorboats, as well as aeroplanes and seaplanes under license agreements with firms such as Ansaldo, Macchi, Caproni, and Dornier. Subsequently, the company advanced to designing and building vehicles based on its own blueprints.
Between 1937 and 1939, Piaggio set 21 world records with aircraft and engines produced at its newly established factory in Pontedera. This period culminated in the creation of the four-engine Piaggio P.108 bomber. Rinaldo passed away in 1938; by that time, ownership of Piaggio was shared among various family members and entrepreneur Attilio Odero. Leadership was then transferred to his sons, Enrico and Armando. By 1940, Piaggio's product range included trains, nautical fittings, aircraft engines, aeroplanes, trucks, trams, buses, funiculars, along with aluminium windows and doors. The company's Pontedera facility was destroyed during Allied bombing raids in World War II, prompting relocation of production to the Biella region.
Following the war, Enrico Piaggio aimed to expand beyond aeronautics by developing an affordable and modern transportation solution for the broader Italian public. The initial prototype was a compact motorcycle designed for parachutists called the MP5, which earned the nickname "Paperino" due to its unusual shape. However, Enrico was dissatisfied with this model and commissioned Corradino D'Ascanio to redesign it.
D'Ascanio, an aeronautical engineer credited with designing Agusta’s first modern helicopter, was initially skeptical about motorcycles because he found them uncomfortable and cumbersome, especially when it came to changing punctured tires. When tasked with creating a motorcycle for Ferdinando Innocenti, D'Ascanio developed a step-through scooter concept but disagreed with Innocenti over using a pressed steel frame instead of tubular construction. Consequently, D'Ascanio presented his design to Piaggio. Innocenti eventually adopted D'Ascanio’s original concept for their Lambretta scooter.
Piaggio requested that D'Ascanio design a vehicle that was simple, durable, cost-effective, easy to operate for both genders, capable of carrying a passenger, and would keep the rider's clothing clean. The resulting design marked a significant departure from the Paperino model. Collaborating with Mario D'Este, D'Ascanio finalized the first Vespa prototype at Piaggio’s rebuilt Pontedera plant in April 1946. The company introduced the Vespa (meaning "wasp" in Italian"), which quickly gained popularity; within ten years over one million units had been sold. The Vespa became so ingrained in Italian culture that it inspired the verb "vespare," meaning to travel by Vespa.
In 2024, Piaggio commemorated its 140th anniversary by releasing a limited edition model called 'Vespa 140th of Piaggio.' This exclusive run consisted of only 140 units available between April 18 and 21, 2024.
Ownership
Vespa experienced significant growth until 1992 when Giovanni Alberto Agnelli, the son of Antonella Bechi Piaggio and Umberto Agnelli, assumed the role of CEO. Agnelli successfully expanded production capabilities and modernized the product lineup. Tragically, he passed away from cancer in 1997 at the age of 33. In 1999, Morgan Grenfell Private Equity took ownership of Piaggio; however, plans for a swift resale were thwarted by an unsuccessful joint venture in China. Within Italy, Piaggio invested 15 million euros to develop a new motorcycle model but discontinued it after producing only a prototype. By the close of 2002, the company had accumulated debts amounting to 577 million euros against revenues of 945 million euros and reported a loss of 129 million euros.
In 2003, the Colaninno family's holding company, IMMSI, injected 100 million euros to reduce Piaggio's debt burden. Additionally, creditor banks converted 150 million shares. Reflecting on his decision to invest, Roberto Colaninno remarked,
"A lot of people told me I was crazy. Piaggio wasn't dying. It just needed to be treated better."
Colaninno was appointed chairman, while Rocco Sabelli took on the role of managing director. Sabelli revamped the production system following Japanese manufacturing principles, enabling any Piaggio scooter to be assembled on any production line. Contrary to expectations, Colaninno refrained from layoffs, a strategy that helped win over the company's initially wary unions. He emphasized that "everyone in a company is part of the value chain." Both blue-collar employees and management received bonuses based on shared criteria: profit margins and customer satisfaction. The factory was also equipped with air conditioning for the first time, boosting worker productivity. Engineers, who had been sidelined due to financial difficulties, were given strict project deadlines. This led to the launch in 2004 of two pioneering products: a gas-electric hybrid scooter and an innovative tilting scooter featuring two front wheels and one rear wheel for enhanced road grip.
One challenge Colaninno could not resolve internally was Piaggio's limited scale. Despite being Europe's market leader, Piaggio remained small compared to competitors such as Honda and Yamaha. A year after stabilizing the company, Colaninno orchestrated Piaggio's acquisition of Italian scooter and motorcycle manufacturer Aprilia, which included Aprilia-owned Moto Guzzi, a renowned Italian motorcycle brand.
Piaggio went public in 2006 with its listing on the Milan Stock Exchange.
Production
The milestone of producing the millionth Vespa scooter in 1956 marked Italy’s first mass-produced motor vehicle. Leveraging increased cash flow from Vespa’s success, Piaggio diversified its offerings by launching products such as the 1957 Vespa 400, a compact car. Control of Piaggio shifted to the Agnelli family, owners of automobile manufacturer Fiat SpA, in 1959. By 1960, Vespa had sold over four million units globally. In 1964, due to Fiat’s broad industrial holdings in Italy, Piaggio’s aeronautical and motorcycle divisions were separated into independent entities; the aeronautical division was renamed IAM Rinaldo Piaggio. The aircraft manufacturer Piaggio Aero became controlled by Piero Ferrari’s family, who retain a 10% stake in Ferrari. In 1969, Piaggio acquired Gilera, one of Europe’s oldest motorcycle companies established in 1909 and celebrated for its successes in the Motorcycle World Championship. In 1971, steering wheels were introduced to the Piaggio Ape, originally launched in 1948, culminating in what became known as the Ape Car. By 1975, Piaggio developed its first electric Ape prototype. The Vespa brand reached a production total of ten million units by 1988.
Marking Vespa’s fiftieth anniversary in 1996, production surpassed fifteen million units with the launch of the new four-stroke Vespa ET—the first entirely new model introduced in eighteen years. Although financial challenges persisted for Piaggio at this time, brand recognition remained robust, aided by appearances of the ET4 model in several Hollywood films. Production commenced in Baramati (India) in 1999 for a three-wheeled Ape tailored to local market needs.
The year 2000 saw Piaggio and Vespa re-entering the U.S. market with the opening of their first Vespa Boutique in Los Angeles. That same year also marked the inauguration of the Piaggio Historical Museum in Pontedera, which houses one of Italy’s most comprehensive industrial archives related to company history. In 2001, Piaggio expanded by acquiring Derbi-Nacional Motor SA—a historic Spanish brand founded in 1922 with eighteen world titles and leadership in small displacement motorcycles—and saw Gilera return triumphantly to the Motorcycle World Championship by winning the 125cc class with Manuel Poggiali.
In April 2004, Piaggio signed a memorandum of understanding with Chinese manufacturer Zongshen to establish “Zongshen Piaggio Foshan Motorcycle,” a joint venture featuring a Foshan plant dedicated to scooter production for China’s market. Later that year, at December’s end, Piaggio finalized its acquisition of the Aprilia-Moto Guzzi Group—forming Europe’s largest two-wheeler conglomerate.
Piaggio entered Vietnam in 2007 with its Vinh Phuc facility encompassing research and development alongside welding, painting, final assembly, warehousing, testing, quality control, and office operations. The introduction of the Piaggio Mp3 Hybrid scooter came in 2009—the world’s first hybrid scooter combining an environmentally friendly internal combustion engine with an electric motor delivering zero emissions benefits from both power sources. In Baramati (Maharashtra), a new manufacturing plant dedicated to Vespa production for India opened in 2012.
The Piaggio Advanced Design Center (PADC) launched in Pasadena (California) in 2013 alongside new models including the Vespa 946 and an updated Vespa Primavera—the latest iteration within Vespa's "small body" series. That year saw global Vespa sales reach nearly 190,000 units compared to just 58,000 units sold back in 2004; over ten years more than 1.3 million new Vespas were produced continuously since inception with total production exceeding eighteen million since 1946.
In September 2017 Foton and Piaggio agreed on a joint venture aimed at developing and manufacturing light commercial vehicles. This new model—based on Foton chassis—was distributed worldwide by Piaggio Commercial Vehicle division except within China. Intended as a successor to the Piaggio Porter, production was scheduled to begin mid-2019 at Pontedera (Italy), with all components sourced from Foton’s facilities in China.
"Cultural Initiative" Piaggio
Piaggio's cultural initiative focuses on preserving and showcasing the company's legacy through three main components: the Piaggio Foundation, the Historical Archives, and the Piaggio Museum. In 2003, both the Museum and Archives earned recognition as the Best Corporate Museum and Archive by receiving the Italian award "Premio Impresa e Cultura". Later, in 2016, Piaggio was honored with the Corporate Art Award from pptArt for its Corporate Museum, an accolade granted under the auspices of the Italian Ministry of Culture.
Brands
Active Piaggio Group brands
- Aprilia – motorcycles, scooters, and mopeds
- Piaggio – scooters and mopeds
- Vespa – scooters and mopeds
- Moto Guzzi – motorcycles
- Piaggio Commercial Vehicles – light commercial vehicles
Inactive brands
- Scarabeo – scooters and mopeds
- Derbi – motorcycles, scooters, mopeds, and recreational ATVs (quads)
- Gilera – motorcycles, scooters, mopeds, and recreational ATVs (quads) 1909–2020
- Laverda – motorcycles
Currently produced
Two-wheeled vehicles
- Piaggio Fly (marketed in Asia)
- Piaggio Beverly
- Piaggio Liberty
- Piaggio Medley
- Vespa
- Piaggio Zip
- Piaggio X7 (marketed in Asia)
- Piaggio 1
Three-wheeled vehicles
Commercial vehicles
Out of production
Two-wheeled vehicles
- Piaggio Boss
- Piaggio Boxer
- Piaggio Bravo
- Piaggio Carnaby
- Piaggio Ciao
- Piaggio Cosa
- Piaggio Diesis
- Piaggio Free
- Piaggio Grande
- Piaggio Grillo
- Piaggio Hexagon
- Piaggio NRG
- Piaggio Quartz
- Piaggio Scatto
- Piaggio Sfera
- Piaggio Skipper
- Piaggio Si
- Piaggio Toledo
- Piaggio Typhoon
- Piaggio Vespino
- Piaggio Velofax
- Piaggio X7
- Piaggio X8
- Piaggio X9
- Piaggio X10
- Piaggio Xevo
Three-wheeled vehicles
Commercial vehicles
All-terrain vehicles
- Piaggio Trackmaster (a rebadged version of the Arctic Cat TRV)
Quadricycles
- Piaggio M500 (rebadged Casalini Ydea)
- Piaggio AL500 (rebadged Grecav Eke)
- Piaggio PK500 (rebadged Grecav Eke Pick-up)
Aircraft engines (1920–1950)
- Piaggio P.VI
- Piaggio P.VII
- Piaggio P.VIII
- Piaggio P.IX
- Piaggio P.X
- Piaggio P.XI
- Piggio P.XII
- Piagio P.XV
Electric scooters
The upcoming plug-in hybrid variant of the Piaggio MP3 will feature a 125 cc petrol engine paired with an electric motor, delivering approximately 60 km/L (141 mpg‑US) and capable of covering 21 km (13 mi) solely on electric power. This model is expected to be released in 2009.
Piaggio/Vespa is also advancing hybrid electric scooter technology, developing two models based on the well-known Vespa LX 50 and the more powerful Piaggio X8 125.
At the 2021 Beijing Motor Show, Piaggio introduced its latest electric scooter, the Piaggio 1. This scooter is available in three trims: 1 base, 1+, and 1 Active. The base version includes a 1.4 kWh, 48V battery, a 1.2 kW motor, produces 85 Nm of torque, reaches a top speed of 45 km/h (qualifying it as a moped), and offers a range of 55 km. The 1+ model upgrades the battery to 2.3 kWh, extending the range up to 100 kilometers. The 1 Active shares the same 2.3 kWh battery but features a motor with a maximum output of 2 kW, torque increased to 95 Nm, and a top speed of 60 km/h (classified as a motorcycle), with an average range of 85 km. Charging time for all variants is approximately six hours.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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