Piaggio plans to open 20 outlets in year 2009 in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, NCR and Karnataka. The number of Ape Life outlets will grow to 50 across India by 2010. Piaggio expects this venture to contribute 10% to its sales in 2011. “With sales having crossed over 700,000 vehicles since its launch in India just 10 years ago, Piaggio has maintained its leadership in the 3-wheeler segment since the last one year,” stated a press release.

Commenting on the new venture Ravi Chopra, chairman and managing director, Piaggio Vehicles said, “Piaggio has always set exceptional standards in meeting and sometimes exceeding the customer expectations. Through Apé Life, we are offering customers the Apé assurance, while meeting the latent demand of the market. After achieving leadership status within 10 years through exceptional customer-friendly sales and service, we wanted to extend the range of our service-offerings. The Apé brand is synonymous with reliability and customers can be rest assured that we will maintain the same level of reliability in Apé Life.”

According to Mr. Ashutosh Khosla, director sales and marketing, Piaggio Vehicles, “At Piaggio, we have always believed in enhancing customer delight. We attribute our market leadership in India to our unfailing customer-orientation and focus. Apé Life is set to be a trendsetter for the industry. We believe Apé Life will complement the patronage and leadership of the Apé brand.”