Piaggio last year set up the joint venture company with Greaves Ltd taking 51 per cent of the equity, the rest being held with the Indian partner. The Baramati plant, which went on stream recently, was built with an investment of Rs 65 crore.

Chopra told The Financial Express that being the second largest production facility outside Italy, the Indian plant had greater significance. From India, the company would export to destinations including Latin America, South East Asia, Africa and SAARC region.

Piaggio was also betting big on its Indian operations as the country had a huge potential for transportation vehicles, he said. Currently, the Baramati plant has a production capacity of 25,000 vehicles a year and thiswould be upped soon, he added.

According to Chopra, Piaggio has plans to introduce a wide range of customised multi-purpose three-wheelers in the Indian market within a year or two, he said.

He said the country has a huge requirement for customised utility three-wheelers considering the spectrum of industries and the volume of transportation. Piaggio already has such vehicles on the Italian roads and the company would introduce such varieties in India within two years, he said. ``We want to provide optimised customisation and total solution for a wide spectrum of transportation needs,'' he said.

The company recently launched its APE range of diesel three-wheeler vehicles (pick-ups, delivery and passenger versions) in Bangalore. The new vehicles would be made available across the country in a phased manner, Chopra said.The Ape variants would be manufactured at Piaggio's Baramati unit in Maharashtra.