Piaggio targets turnover of Rs 1,000 crore by 2005

Piaggio Vehicles Private Limited, the 100 per cent subsidiary of Italian company Piaggio & C SpA, is targeting a turnover of more than Rs 1,000 crore by the end of 2005.

The company, which follows the January to December financial year, expects a 20 per cent increase in turnover from Rs 500 crore in 2003 to Rs 600 crore by the end of the current calendar year.

Addressing a press conference, Ravi Chopra, managing director of Piaggio Vehicles Private Limited, said: "The market for small cargo carriers is expanding in the country, and this would be the main growth driver for the company."

Chopra was in the city to launch the 1.3-tonne three-wheeler cargo carrier from Piaggio. "The company has a one-tonne three-wheeler in the market and the 1.3-tonne vehicle will help us offer a wider choice to customers and all the company's three-wheeler carriers will be sold under 'Ape' brand name," Chopra said.

According to him, for every multi-axle vehicle that is sold for inter-city cargo movement, at least eight to 10 smaller cargo carriers of the capacity that Piaggio produces would be required for the cargo movement within the city.

Chopra said that the new vehicle is being launched in two varieties, pick-up and delivery vehicle models, and in the next two months the passenger variety would also be launched.

He said that the company expects the sales volume across all the segments to be around 72,000 vehicles by the end of the current calendar year.

"The four southern states amount for around 45 per cent of the total sales, 15 per cent comes from the east and the western regions and the rest from the north and the north-eastern parts of the country," Chopra said.

Chopra also said that the company was planning to introduce a 1.5 tonne four-wheeler goods and passenger carrier by the end of 2005. This vehicle with a payload of 800 kg to one tonne, would be manufactured at Piaggio Vehicles' plant in Baramati, Maharashtra.

He said that the capacity of the plant would be increased from the existing one lakh units to 1.36 lakh units by the end of next year. "From a 'few thousand vehicles' exported last year, Piaggio hopes to increase exports to 20 per cent of total sales in the next couple of years," Chopra said.

According to Chopra, the Italian parent is also keen to make the Indian subsidiary a worldwide manufacturing hub for three-wheeler products.

Piaggio Vehicles have studied the market in 18 countries and hoped to begin exports to these countries shortly. The markets include Africa, Latin America, South East Asia and South Asia. Piaggio Vehicles currently has 200 dealers, 100 outlets and 300 service centres across the country.