Three-wheeler giant Piaggio Vehicles Pvt Ltd is set to introduce a four wheeled 1.5 tonne delivery-cum-pickup van in India by the end of 2005.
The four wheeled Quadrocycle, developed by Piaggio Spa is currently undergoing tests to adapt to Indian conditions, Ravi Chopra, managing director of the company's Indian arm, told newspersons at the launch of its new 1.3 tonner pick up 'Ape' in Mumbai on Tuesday night.
The new vehicle would be like a light commercial vehicle and built on a three wheel chassis and priced within Rs 200,000.
Italy's Piaggio Spa converted the Pune-based company into its fully-owned subsidiary in August 2000 after buying out the Indian partner Greaves India's 49 per cent stake in the joint venture.
The 1.3 tonner, priced at Rs 180,000 (ex-showroom), is expected to add to the market share, which he claimed was presently around 40 per cent. "We see LCV business moving into this segment following the introduction of the new vehicle," he added.
On the turnover, Chopra said the Pune-based company is expected to touch Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) this year (January-December) as against Rs 600 crore (Rs 6 billion) last year.
The company hopes to touch production levels of 100,000 units along with the new model and plan to export about 25,000 units this year, mostly to Latin American countries.
