Piaggio One Electric Scooter Revealed: Green Mobility For The Tik Tok Generation

That’s not hyperbole--the Piaggio One’s unveiling at the Beijing Motor Show this weekend will be broadcast on Tik Tok

The Piaggio One will be powered by a removable lithium-ion battery pack. It is loaded with features such as a full-colour instrument cluster, all-LED lighting and two riding modes. It’ll be offered in different variants packing different range and output figures to cater to a wider audience.

Piaggio has revealed the Piaggio One electric scooter ahead of its official unveiling at the Beijing Motor Show on May 28. Being an urban electric scooter designed in Italy for the youth, Piaggio has chosen just the right platform to broadcast the event: Tik Tok! The Chinese social media platform has been banned in India but nevertheless, we’ll report the event once it is out on other platforms.

The Piaggio One is a global project, and will be available in Europe from June-end. Design-wise, the electric scooter looks properly modern, with aggressive-looking split LED headlamps mounted on the apron, and a sleek tail section. The tail lamp and the indicators are LEDs as well. Piaggio has equipped the scooter with a fully digital colour instrument cluster with auto-brightness. While Piaggio hasn’t divulged more details about the features, we hope it also comes with smartphone connectivity. 

The electric scooter is powered by a hub motor, linked to a lithium-ion battery pack. Piaggio hasn’t revealed the specifications either, just that the motor gets two maps (riding modes), and that the battery pack is removable. Expect the scooter to offer a range of about 90-100km, and performance equivalent to that of a 110cc petrol-powered scooter.

Like Vespa scooters, this one too gets a single-sided linked front suspension and a pair of preload-adjustable rear shock absorbers linked to a double-sided cast aluminium swingarm. The 10-inch wheels are wrapped with 100-section CST Urban Travel tyres at both ends. Braking is via discs at both ends, with CBS as standard. Piaggio claims it has a generous underseat storage, apron-mounted hook, flush-fit pillion footpegs, and keyless operation. Piaggio will offer the electric scooter in different variants packing different range and output figures to cater to a wider audience

Piaggio's strategy in India differs from its global plans. To give you an example, its daughter company, Aprilia, initially showcased the Aprilia GPR150 at a dealer event in India back in 2019. But later, the company revealed that it will bring something much more powerful for the Indian market. Moreover, the biggest hurdle for Piaggio in bringing the recently-revealed scooter to India will be its cost. To keep the electric scooter affordable, the company might have to manufacture it in India, and export to other developing nations. But this will prove to be a very resource-intensive move.

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So, instead of launching the Piaggio One in India, the Italian brand revealed at the 2020 Auto Expo that it will be launching a Vespa electric scooter here. It won’t be the Vespa Elettrica but will be inspired by it, and will be designed in Italy. This made-in-India electric scooter was originally scheduled to be launched in mid-2021 or early 2022. However, now with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic wreaking havoc on manufacturers’ business plans, it’s safe to assume it might be launched late next year. By then, the Indian electric scooter segment will have matured a lot with the Ola electric scooter, the Hero Gogoro-powered eMaestro and the Simple Energy Mark 2. Other already-existing rivals include the Ather 450X, Bajaj Chetak electric and the TVS iQube Electric.