Piaggio to bring new electric scooter to India in 2027 on a purpose-built platform

As demand for electric scooters grows in India, the Piaggio Group is preparing to bring a new electric scooter for Indian customers. The company plans to launch it in 2027 and a new platform is being developed for it.

The likely price of the scooter has been put between Rs 85,000 and Rs 1.3 lakh. If that holds, the company could get a chance to expand widely in the affordable electric scooter segment.

According to Diego Graffi, Chairman, CEO and Managing Director of Piaggio, the new platform is being built keeping India's needs in mind. It is being developed for electric vehicles from the start. Notably, a scooter with a 125cc petrol engine could also be built on the same platform. This would let the company reach different customers with both electric and petrol scooters.

On range, the scooter is expected to run more than 100 km on a single charge. Nothing has yet emerged about the battery capacity, charging time or the motor. If this range is actually delivered, it could prove useful for the daily commute to the office and for city riding. The company will have to balance range and running costs while keeping the price competitive.

Graffi has made clear that it is difficult to build an electric scooter with the expected range and a competitive price on the existing Vespa platform. For this reason, the new platform will be preferred in the plans for the initial electric vehicles. For now, there is no plan to launch an electric Vespa.

Piaggio already exports some two-wheelers made in India. The scooter built on the new platform will not be limited to India and could also be exported to Europe. The cost of production in India and local production capacity could help the company in the domestic as well as international markets.

However, the final price, features and firm launch date of the scooter have not yet been disclosed. The price range given is not final, and variants with more features could cost more. The final specifications of both models have also not yet emerged.