Piaggio Vehicles sees the demand for small commercial vehicles, particularly the cargo segment, on the rise in India. With enhanced rural road connectivity, smart city initiatives/programmes and increased infra spending, Piaggo will target doubling its customers base in the next two years to 5 million. The company is also working on an electric three-wheeler apart from gearing up to roll out BS VI models with new powertrains, Diego Graffi, managing director and CEO, Piaggio Vehicles, told FE’s
R Ravichandran. Excerpts:

What is the size of the three-wheeler SCV industry now and where does Piaggio stands with numbers both in terms of passenger and goods?
Overall, the three-wheeler industry is expected to be around 7 lakh vehicles for 2018; out of which the three-wheeler cargo segment holds approximately 1.3 lakh vehicles. We are the market leader in three-wheeler cargo with a share of around 47%. In the overall three-wheeler space, PVPL has a market share of around 24% with nearly 40% of the 3-wheeler diesel market. The SCV industry has seen a revival this year compared to the last few years. We see the growth trend to continue in the last-mile connectivity segment considering the stress on Swach Bharat & enhanced rural road connectivity, smart city initiatives among host of other infra activities.

What are the ranges, including the tonnage, PVPL is looking for in future?
PVPL is a major player in the last-mile transportation and will continue to maintain a dominant position in this category. We will further strengthen the presence in last mile transportation till the 1.5-tonne payoad in load category & accordingly in the relevant last-mile transportation passenger category both 3W & 4W. We are looking at solutions in all power sources, including diesel, pertol, CNG, LPG and electric in the future. PVPL is further working on upgrading & developing various powertrains. Piaggio is also gearing up for introduction BS VI compliant range of vehicles before the deadline of April 2020.

What is the next manufacturing milestone PVPL is looking at?
We have crossed the 2.5 million SCVs sale in India and we are targeting 5 million customers by 2020. As far as the CV segment is concerned, Piaggio is globally known for owning and establishing renowned brand Ape in three-wheelers as well as Porter and Quargo in four-wheeler small commercial vehicles. It has a wide range of products under two main brands Ape & Porter & eight sub brands with various products for varied applications.

Are you planning to enter into the electric mobility segment in India in SCVs?
As far as electric vehicles are concerned, PVPL is working on this technology & would come in to the market at an appropriate time. The emphasis on R&D is much more today. The Indian R&D teams are coordinating with the R&D team at Italy in terms of technology requirements to make all our products suitable for Indian needs. PVPL is investing more in R&D for better product design and better fuel economy. The recently launched CNG/LPG variants of our three-wheelers have more power and torque as compared to the other models.

What are your investment plans in India?
Piaggio will invest more than Rs 100 crore in powertrain and product development in India. Piaggio views India as an extremely important market. PVPL sees many new opportunities in the coming future as the Indian market is set to gain a more predominant role in Piaggio’s global business. Piaggio is also lining up investments for enlarging its product portfolio in the small commercial vehicle segment both in terms of vehicle applications (including exploring new segments) and in terms of powertrain, more powerful and efficient for the Indian and export markets.

Can you share the details of water cooled engine technology for the small commercial vehicles?
Recently, PVPL has launched the water-cooled engine variants of Piaggio Ape. Ape Xtra LDX and Ape Auto DX are part of the new water-cooled range. These variants of Ape are the first of its kind in the industry with water-cooled engines. These three-wheelers also offer best in class performance in terms of power, pick-up, mileage & maintenance. Water-cooled engines have been there in the passenger car segment for quite sometime as it offers many benefits. The water-cooled engine is efficient in removing excess heat and improves engine performance. With the introduction of this technology in the small commercial vehicle space, we aim to provide the benefits of this technology to our customers.