Piaggio to roll out Ape LPG version next month

Piaggio Vehicles, which launched its Ape CNG three wheeler in the country is planning to roll out its LPG version within a month.

The LPG variant will be introduced in Karnataka first and later Maharashtra. The company has set a target of 200 units per month from Karnataka in the first phase.

The engines for both the CNG and LPG machines have been sourced from Greaves Cotton. In the first phase, the CNG vehicles were launched in the Delhi NCR area, Agra, Ahmedabad and Surat.

In the CNG segment, the company has set a target of 500 units per month in the first phase. Ahmedabad alone is likely to contribute nearly 200 units for the vehicle's passenger variant and around 150 units per month for its cargo variant.

The vehicles are manufactured at the company's Baramati plant, which has a capacity of two lakh units per annum. In 2006, the company sold around 1.4 lakh units and is looking to sell 1.6 lakh units this year.

The Ape' CNG is powered by a 400 cc four stroke engine and is available at an ex-showroom price of Rs 1.39 lakh for the cargo variant and Rs 1.3 lakh for the passenger variant, in Ahmedabad. The company recently introduced its sub-one tonne truck 'Ape Truk' in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.