After a not so successful first try, Piaggio Vehicles India, will be taking a second crack at the light commercial vehicle market in India with some updated models. Their current product lineup featuring the Ape Mini and the Ape Truck Plus in the 0.5 and 1 tonne categories respectively will be replaced by the Porter 600 and the Porter 1000 in the next two months.  The Porter 1000 is a 0.75 tonne vehicle and a 1.5 tonne vehicle based on the Porter platform is also on the horizon.

The main competitors in this market are Tata Motors’ Ace Zip and Ace and Mahindra & Mahindra’s Maxximo. According to Piaggio’s According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers the new vehicles will provide more “power, fuel efficiency, gradability” than the competition and they hope to capture 10% of the market with the new vehicles.  The LCV market grew approximately 14% in the last year according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.  Learn more:  Domain-b.com