Piaggio Dominates Scooter Growth
Defying the doom and gloom merchants, Piaggio scooter brands continue to lead the growth in scooter sales. They finished 2008 strongly, further cementing their acceptance as the most chosen scooter brands on Australia with 3591 units purchased by commuters and enthusiasts alike.
Comprising the Piaggio, Vespa and Gilera Brands, Piaggio appear to bucking a number of consumer trends in the challenging economic environment with the final π being their strongest for 2008. Piaggio increased sales by 44.7% over the previous year in a market that increased by 7.6%. This provided Piaggio with an increase in market share from 17.4% to 23.4%.
With fuel prices dipping below $1.00, many expected scooter sales would slow. Not the case says Simon Gloyne Piaggio’s brand Manager in Australia, “We understand why people might think that, but the factors that drove scooter growth in the past 6 years remain. An increase in apartment living, worsening traffic congestion, unreliable public transport, sky-rocketing parking costs, more concern for the environment & fun lifestyle choices have been strong influences for people to get on a scooter. Petrol prices may have come down but our owners still remain interested in reducing consumption and improving their quality of life. It’s never been more fun to do the right thing”.
Closing out the year on another high, Piaggio also received the most coveted “Scooter of the Year” award from Scooter magazine for the Piaggio MP3 250 and MP3 400 models. Mr. Gloyne commented, “We’ve always known the unique 3-wheeled scooter provides unmatched benefits levels of safety and confidence. To have the leading industry publication recognise this is fantastic. We accept this award proudly”.
