New electric Vespa goes on sale in Europe

By Réhann Coetzee

The iconic Vespa scooter now has an electric option too and it will now be available to buyers in Europe.

You can buy the Vespa Elettrica for €99 per month – if you live in Europe

The Italian motorcycle group Piaggio says that as the online booking campaign for the Vespa Elettrica gets underway, mobility in general, and electric mobility in particular, will never be the same again.

Customers can order the green version of the iconic scooter from a dedicated website.

Piaggio says marketing of the Vespa Elettrica through the Piaggio dealer network will commence in November to coincide with the EICMA 2018 motorcycle show in Milan. Sales will begin in Europe, to then be extended to the US and Asia at the start of 2019. It is not clear whether by when we will see the Elettrica in South Africa.

Piaggio says the Vespa Elettrica is a contemporary icon of Italian technology in the world, a synonym for advanced connectivity and silence, personalisation and accessibility, respect for the environment and style.

The power unit delivers 4kW and Piaggio says this outshines a traditional 50cc scooter, still popular in Europe, “particularly in regards acceleration and hill starts”.

“It guarantees easy, agile and enjoyable riding on city roads, even at the very low speeds of congested urban traffic, with the added benefits of absolute silence and absence of vibrations, helping to make cities less chaotic and more liveable by avoiding both air and acoustic pollution.”

The Vespa Elettrica has a maximum range of 100km on a full charge, a value that changes little between urban and extra-urban environments thanks to the scooter’s modern lithium-ion battery and efficient kinetic energy recovery system, which recharges the battery during deceleration. To recharge the battery the rider simply plugs the cable located in the compartment below the saddle into a normal electric wall socket or into one of the recharging points that are becoming a common sight in today’s Etopean cities. A complete recharge normally takes 4 hours.

The Vespa Elettrica is available in the main Eurozone countries at a price of €6 390 (about R109 165) or, alternatively, through a unique financing solution of €99 (about R1 690) per month. With the addition of a small down payment, the monthly instalment also includes Vespa Care, a package providing planned vehicle services maintenance (36 months or 10 000km), a 12-month warranty extension, a regular battery check and road assistance enhanced with special services.