MUMBAI -- Italy's Piaggio Group has added a new midrange minitruck to its Indian offerings, aiming to expand its reach in what has become a critical market.
The Porter 700 light commercial vehicle, featuring a maximum payload of 700kg, went on sale Wednesday, offering an alternative to the 600kg and 1,000kg models already available. The minitruck has a minimum ground clearance of 21.8cm, the highest in its class, to ensure a smooth ride on India's rough roads. Fuel efficiency also is among the best available, according to the manufacturer. The trucks run around 320,000 rupees ($4,976) before tax in the state of Maharashtra, where Mumbai is located.
Piaggio will "continue to provide technological solutions in the last-mile transportation market" and "focus on further strengthening and dominating this category," in particular cargo vehicles such as the Porter line, said Ravi Chopra, chairman of Piaggio Vehicles, the Indian unit of Piaggio Group.
India accounted for around a quarter of Piaggio's 1.3 billion euros ($1.47 billion) in sales in 2016. The hope is that the Porter 700 will further increase sales and share in this massive emerging market.
Though the automaker is best known for its Vespa scooters, Piaggio first entered the Indian market in 1999 with its three-wheel commercial vehicles before adding two-wheelers and four-wheel commercial vehicles to the mix. The automaker's Maharashtra plant can turn out up to 300,000 three-wheelers and up to 80,000 four-wheelers a year.
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