EXCLUSIVE - Moto Guzzi to enter India in six months

Piaggio plans to bring in Moto Guzzi bikes, also evaluating smaller Aprilia motorcycles for India.

Moto Guzzi, the Piaggio-owned Italian brand of motorcycles, is all set to enter India in the coming six months or even earlier. At the Auto Expo in January this year, Piaggio had revealed plans to bring the Moto Guzzi tourer, the 1200 Norge GT, as a completely-built-unit (CBU) (pictured). The six-speed 1200 Norge GT, powered by the 1151cc, 90deg V-series engine, develops peak power of 102bhp at 7000rpm and torque of 10.5kgm at 5500rpm.

Established in 1921, Moto Guzzi is one of the world’s best known motorcycle brands. Its range includes tourers, enduro road bikes, custom and naked versions up to 1151cc, all with 90deg V-twin-cylinder engines. In the wake of all big bike companies either drafting or implementing their own India-specific plans, Piaggio does not want to be left behind.

The company is already defining its own growth trajectory in India with the 125cc Vespa LX125 scooter which has between April-September 2012 sold 12,851 units. According to company officials, it is in the process of appointing a couple of fresh dealerships dedicated to the Aprilia brand of motorcycles in some metro cities soon.

“We have just made available a couple of Aprilia models as per customers’ specific orders through our Pune outlet. In view of the good response, we have decided that we shall expand to some of the metros in the coming months with a larger range and with a complete back-up of service and spares availability,” said an official statement from the company.

The Aprilia motorcycles currently commercially available in India are the 1000cc, 180bhp RSV4 R APRC along with the faster, race-ready RSV4 Factory APRC, both with six-speed quick-shifters. Also locally available are the naked sports 1000cc, 167bhp, Tuono V4 R APRC; the 1197cc, 130bhp Dorsoduro 1200; the 839cc, 75bhp tourer Mana 850 ABS (along with the GT variant) and Aprilia’s globally known 839.3cc, 76bhp, V-twin-cylinder automatic scooter, the SRV 850 which comes with ABS.

The company is also evaluating the feasibility of bringing in the relatively smaller Aprilia motorcycles which are currently on sale in European markets such as the 124cc RS4 125 and the 749cc Dorsoduro 750 (both pictured below) among others. “We are evaluating and will review our plan in due course. We are expecting a good response for the Aprilia 850cc and above this year. At Piaggio, we are always open to customer needs and shall introduce other bikes at an appropriate time,” mentions the company statement. Piaggio in India, however, wants to focus on selling the Italian motorcycles via the CBU route. Meanwhile, its immediate priority is to remain focussed on selling its Vespa LX125 scooter.



AMIT PANDAY