Vespa vs Bajaj: Battle of the scooters begins

Piaggio designers in India and Tuscany have painted a version of the classic Italian scooter in a sprightly cherry red as they reveal plans to woo three-wheeling Indians and Chinese in Asia, the world's largest scooter market.

The WSJ tells us that, "In India, Piaggio will invest €100 million (US$129 million) over the next three years to double production capacity. The strategy calls for Piaggio to produce Vespas locally by the end of 2012, after a 15-year absence. It also involves re-engineering a new line of tiny trucks and three-wheel 'tuk-tuks' that keep India's economy humming along."

The company's chairman Roberto Colaninno said a Vespa scooter will cost about US$800 to produce in India, and has high hopes that with traffic growing the way it is, scooters will be the way to go and Vespa will be able to compete on price with Asian brands like Honda, Yamaha and Bajaj.

They had to make some changes though, reports the WSJ, including narrowing the Vespa's floorboard so that Indian riders, who tend to be shorter according to Piaggio's research, can reach the ground easily.