Piaggio launched its first international pick-up vehicle, ‘Ape’ truck, in Chandigarh on Monday. The vehicle is priced at over Rs two lakh and is being manufactured at the company’s fully automated plant at Baramati in Maharashtra which has a capacity of 36,000 per annum. The northern market which currently accounts for close to 33 % of sales volumes for Piaggio’s vehicles is likely to grow bigger with greater industrialization happening here and thus has huge opportunities, said company officials. “The lower end of the LCV market in India is seeing a major change.The ‘Ape’ truck in the Indian market to cater to the need for a sub-one tonne pickup that would economically and efficiently fill the gap between the lower end of the LCV category and the larger 3-wheelers,” said Ashutosh Khosla, director-sales and marketing, Piaggio.
Elaborating further he said that the vehicle is the best in its category in terms of mileage and payload and it also offers conveniences like 3-side openable panels, higher ground clearance, all-terrain capability and is fuel efficient.
Talking to FE, Khosla added that the company is targeting about 30 per cent of the market share in this category of vehicles over the next three months from Chandigarh.
As of now, in Chandigarh market, the company has a market share of 56 per cent in the three wheeler cargo segment and about 90 per cent in the three wheeler passenger vehicle segment. The same figures are closely replicated in Punjab as well.