Piaggio, The Producer Of Vespa Scooters, Reports A Record Nine-month Profit

On Monday, Piaggio, an Italian scooter maker, announced a 13.8% increase in its nine-month core earnings, as robust performance in the Americas and Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) regions offset a short slowdown in Asia.

“The improvement in customer perception of our brands and products around the world has enabled us to achieve very interesting margins, which we should consolidate in the coming years,” CEO Michele Colaninno said in a statement.

The manufacturer of the namesake two-wheelers said that its profits before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) increased to 269.3 million euros ($284.78 million) in the nine months to September, the greatest-ever performance for the period. Its EBITDA margin was 16.6% in July, up from 14.5% in June.

The manufacturer of the status symbol Vespa, which was featured in the classic film Roman Holiday, has reiterated its planned investments in new two-wheeler and commercial vehicle models, backed up by productivity gains.

Market share of Indian scooters:

During the April-September 2022 period, the scooter category in India’s massive two-wheeler industry had a significant increase in sales. According to SIAM statistics, a total of 27,64,127 units were sold, representing a 41 percent increase year on year (YoY).

Honda‘s bestselling model, the Activa, has become associated with scooters, and it remains at the top. The Activa led FY2023, selling 11,77,626 units and growing at a rate of 41% year on year (first half of FY2022: 8,33,925 units). Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) presently has a 48.56 percent market share, which implies that Activa has a 43 percent share of the Indian scooter market on its own!

The TVS Jupiter, which almost doubled its volumes year on year, sold 3,97,984 units in the first half of FY2023, representing a robust 95 percent increase and a 14 percent market share. In the first half of this fiscal year, TVS sold 6,57,703 scooters, giving it a 24 percent market share.

Suzuki Access comes in third place with 2,31,438 units and an 8% market share. The Suzuki Access 125 easily leads the 125cc family scooter sector, but demand is dropping, especially as the Jupiter 125 eats into its market share. Its sales are down 2% year on year, and it is one of four scooters to witness a drop in sales, along with the Hero Pleasure, Yamaha Ray, and Yamaha Fascino.