LAHORE: Italian Ambassador in Pakistan Stefano Pontecorvo along with Ravi Group director unveiled the new Vespa Primavera scooter at the launching ceremony held at Pakistan Auto Show 2018 in Lahore here on Friday.
Stefano Pontecorvo also unveiled the Aprilia Shiver 900 sports motorbike. He told Pakistan Today, “We have been working tirelessly to re-launch Vespa here in Pakistan. Vespa scooters have long been the prime choice of transport for the upper and middle class not only in Italy and Pakistan but around the world especially in Europe. We wish to work with Ravi in the future to launch other models here in Pakistan.”
He added, “I would tell everyone to buy a Vespa.”
Vespa is an Italian icon that has made its mark in the automotive world throughout the globe. For decades Vespa has been a symbol for the middle class here in Pakistan and auto enthusiasts have been waiting long for Vespa to come back to Pakistan and it appears Vespa is once again about to take its place as the go-to scooter.
In a partnership with Piaggio, Ravi Motors has launched Vespa scooters and Aprilia bikes here in Pakistan. Piaggio, one of the world’s largest two-wheel manufacturers, was first selling its Piaggio 125 Storm bike with the collaboration of Ravi Group of Companies. Later, Ravi in collaboration with Derbi, another Piaggio brand, started selling completely built bikes in Pakistan along with the Chinese 70cc bikes. These bikes are assembled in China at Derbi plant and imported to Pakistan as Completely Built (CBUs).
The new Primavera scooter is available with a 150cc Euro-4 engine. It also has electric self-start, electronic fuel injection, automatic (CVT) gearbox, adjustable coil spring and hydraulic shock absorber; ABS with disk brakes, alloy wheels and 11″ tubeless tires, and the fuel tank can hold 8 litres of fuel with a fuel average of 45 km per litre.
While talking to Pakistan Today, Embassy of Italy to Pakistan Economic, Financial and Commercial Attaché Roberto Puddu said that Vespa scooters were made for everyday use, with comfort and ease of transport in mind. He added, “Oddly enough the designer who originally designed the Vespa scooter hated two-wheelers so he came up with this iconic design in an effort to improve the experience.”
Roberto further said that with this partnership we look forward to improving bilateral ties between Pakistan and Italy.
Kashif Bashir, a Vespa enthusiast who was present at the launch ceremony said “The old Vespa looks like a fragile machine and I thought to put it to test. I restored a Vespa scooter and travelled to Abbottabad in 2015 and 2017 and I absolutely fell in love with the machine. I am very excited about the new and improved model. I think it would be a game changer.”
I like Piaggio liberty 150 because it has big wheels and beautifully look .I request you to import these models of scooters.I work in Italy and from Sargodha Pakistan.
price is very high but machine is awesome. they should localize it so it will be cost effective and will become icon agian