After announcing in August that its first electric two-wheeler was moving into production, Piaggio has now opened up orders for its Vespa Elettrica scooter. The first owners will be taking to the streets of Europe, with wider availability to follow thereafter.
We first spotted an electrified prototype of Piaggio's iconic Vespa scooter at EICMA in Milan two years ago, and it has taken what appears to be a pretty smooth road to production. The Italian motoring company shared some key specs last year, and then in August followed up with a few features that might make it smarter than your run-of-the-mill electric scooter.
This stems from the same AI software that drives Piaggio's Gita robot, a cargo-carrying rover built to follow you home with your groceries. Tuning this technology to the Vespa Elettrica will, according to Piaggio, make the scooter aware of pedestrians and other vehicles, enable it to collect traffic and mapping data, and also become acquainted with its owner's driving habits. One day, it could apparently recognize them without a key fob.
On the performance side of things, the 4-kW (5-hp) electric motor draws power from a lithium-ion battery pack that recovers energy during deceleration. It can be fully recharged in four hours from a regular wall socket for a maximum range of 100 km (62 mi). An onboard TFT color display serves as a virtual dashboard.
Now Piaggio has revealed the Vespa Elettrica is available for online order from Europe at a price of €6,390 (approx. US$7,350), with sales to begin in Asia and the USA at the start of 2019. This online availability will run up to November, at which point Piaggio plans to ramp up its marketing campaign at EICMA 2018. While there is no specifics on a shipping date, the company has previously said the first Vespa Elettricas will hit the streets before the end of 2018.
Source: Piaggio