Over 50 years have passed since 1946, when a revolutionary two-wheeled vehicle called Vespa was presented in Rome. It was compact, with the engine concealed in a steel body and an "aeronautic" design. Its concept and name were the fruit of Enrico Piaggio's intuition, while its structure took shape on the design table of aeroplane and helicopter engineer Corradino D'Ascanio.

The Vespa would very soon become a cult vehicle. To date, 16 million units have been sold throughout the world. Vespa is a concept which represents the desire for freedom of entire generations. It is one of the best-known brands in the world, one of the few Italian words recognised in every country.

The success story continues with the Vespa ET, launched in 1996 to flank the Vespa PX, which has sold two million units worldwide since its birth in 1978 and is still in production.

The ET range includes the Vespa ET2 Injection (the first scooter in the world with a two stroke direct injection engine), the Vespa ET4 125cc four-stroke and the latest model, the Vespa ET4 150, powered by a new four stroke Piaggio LEADER (Low Emission ADvanced Engine Range) unit.

The mission Founded in 1884, Piaggio is now one of the world's leading manufacturers of motorised two-wheeled vehicles, and the consolidated leader in this sector of the European market. It is also present in the markets for light transport vehicles with three or four wheels, and for engines. Piaggio has been involved with mobility since the company's foundation, having operated in the naval, rolling stock and aeronautic fields. The company has always demonstrated particular skills in technological innovation and creativity, reflected in patents registered in a variety of different sectors and subsequently exploited by a number of companies. With the creation of the Vespa in 1946, Piaggio not only anticipated the growing need for personal mobility that is still a characteristic of our society today, but also created one of the best known symbols of Italian styling, and a product that has been and remains an extraordinary market success. The Group currently operates with the following brands, which together form one of the widest ranges in this sector, capable of meeting the demand for mobility from every user bracket: Piaggio (mopeds and scooters, light commercial vehicles and vehicles for individual mobility), Gilera (scooters and motorcycles), Vespa (scooters), Puch (scooters).

Innovation, creativity and design are still the values that guide and identify Piaggio, as it faces the challenge of operating in a global market and of meeting customer expectations. Its competitive products do not just reach levels of excellence, they are often unique stylistically and technologically and - thanks to research and development activities that focus on the quality of life - increasingly friendly to the environment in which we live and move. By focusing on a global approach, shared by just a few Oriental manufacturers, Piaggio and its partners pursue a commitment that aims to meet the requirements of its customers by drawing on an industrial and commercial network capable of supplying practically every geographical area in the world.

A profile of Piaggio Piaggio's headquarters are in Pontedera (Pisa). It is a private group, which was owned by the Piaggio family from its founding in 1884 until December 1999. Piaggio is today controlled by Morgan Grenfell Private Equity (part of the Deutsche Bank Group) which has the majority stake in Piaggio's share capital.The Chairman of Piaggio is Alessandro Barberis; Dante Razzano is Vice Chairman, and Stefano Rosselli Del Turco is CEO and Managing Director.Piaggio is leader of the two wheeler sector in Europe, where it has over 13,000 dealers and approximately 30% of its reference market. In 1999 Piaggio sold over 450,000 two wheelers in Europe. The company had revenues of 1,850 billion liras in 1998 (+4% compared to 1997) and a net profit of 10 billion liras (compared to a 51 billion liras loss in 1997).

R&D and Production Piaggio strategies focus financial and human resources in the sectors that make it possible not only to achieve and maintain a leading position on the market, but also to respond to the emerging expectations of the customer and society in general. In all its research, development and design activities, Piaggio is stimulated by a forward-looking vision in its approach to styling and technology, and in recent years has developed innovative concepts of form and function and revolutionary technical ideas, used for the first time in the two-wheeler segment. In this context, the priority goes to research activities that focus on product innovation in terms of styling, safety, performance and maximum customer satisfaction, and on a drastic reduction in the environmental impact of motorised two-wheeled vehicles which make an irreplaceable contribution to the solution of the growing traffic problem, with the result that they are designed for use in urban and metropolitan areas, where the problem of atmospheric and acoustic pollution is felt most strongly. The Piaggio research and development departments employ over 500 specialists, who collaborate closely with the manufacturing and marketing structures, employing tooling and laboratories fitted with sophisticated technologies which make it possible to examine, experiment and develop innovative technical concepts and solutions. In this field of activity, Piaggio is also linked to a whole network of university and private laboratories and research centres with considerable experience in the various sectors related to the phenomena of mobility and motorised transport. In 1998-1999 Piaggio continued to concentrate its strategies for the development of environment-friendly urban mobility in the field of engines and in limiting the polluting emissions of small and medium sized scooter engines, developing vehicles with characteristics that anticipated the introduction of new, stricter European standards regulating polluting emissions. With one of the most important international centres of research, development and production in the field of engines, Piaggio has always remained occupied with the creation of innovative solutions for eco-compatible mobility. In 1995, it was the first European manufacturer to launch a four-stroke scooter. In 1997 it produced the first and only scooter in the world with an injected two-stroke engine: the Vespa ET2 Injection, which reduces emissions by up to 70% and fuel consumption by up to 30% compared with a normal scooter.

In 2000 Piaggio is the first European manufacturer to launch a 50cc four stroke engine (the Zip4 with a new Piaggio Hi-Per4 engine), while in terms of medium displacements it has developed the innovative range of four stroke LEADER (Low Emission Advanced Engine Range) engines, which includes engines from 125 to 180 cc with air or liquid cooling and two or four valves. At the same time, new families of medium and large four stroke engines are being developed, which will represent a real quality leap for this sector where performance is concerned, with greater power outputs and lower consumption and a power/weight ratio that is significantly better than anything else offered by the market today.