The first step of the famous Italian scooter producer in Vietnam was two years ago when it first launched a US$30 million manufacturing facility in Binh Xuyen Industrial Park, Vinh Phuc Province in June 2009. Just four months later, Piaggio launched a total of 10,000 vehicles in Vietnam. This is truly a great success.
Since the first launching of its Vespa LX scooter on the local market, the sales volume of Piaggio has continuously increased from 26,092 vehicles in 2009 to 44,386 in 2010. The impressive number makes Piaggio a key player in the premium scooter segment in Vietnam with more than 80 percent market share.
According to industry insiders, the scooter segment is forecast to thrive in the future. To tap the strong growth of demand, the world famous Italian scooter manufacturer Piaggio recently kicked off its second phase of investment in Vietnam valued at US$40 million. This move reinforces Piaggio’s position as the biggest Italian investor in the Asia region.
With this investment, Piaggio expanded its annual production capacity from 100,000 vehicles to 300,000 in 2012.
July 15, 2011 was a memorable day for Piaggio when it officially produced the 100,000th scooter manufactured by Piaggio Vietnam. “This is a historical milestone for us in Vietnam. Today, after two years, from a baby who is learning how to walk, our Vespa is stepping through all Asia gaining great achievements. Our latest model, Liberty i.e. has become one of the best-sellers in the market, and our sales network has been rapidly developed from 34 up to 80, covering 43 provinces nation-wide. Products from our factory in Vinh Phuc have been shipped to not only Vietnam’s market, but also to Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Korea, and will be shipped to Taiwan, USA, and Europe in the near future. And we continuously commit ourselves to dedicate the best of Italian design and know-how not only to Vietnamese consumers but also to Asian ones,” said Mr Costantino Sambuy, General Director of Piaggio Vietnam.
The investment expansion of Piaggio Vietnam also includes its new Research and Development (R&D) Centre. The R&D Centre is fully dedicated to development of new vehicle concepts for the Asian market. This defines Piaggio’s commitment to invest in value-added products and innovative designs in Vietnam. It also demonstrates of Piaggio’s dedication to consider Vietnam a hub in its worldwide strategy. This investment helps create new jobs for local people. It is expected to reach 1000 employees by the end of 2012. In addition, to better provide after sale services, Piaggio is going to open a new spare-parts warehouse.
Two years is not a long time enough to achieve success in the journey of a company. But two years with Piaggio is long enough to turn its Italian dream into reality in Vietnam. Apart from great achievements, the last two years helps pave the way to the new phase of double and triple production capacity of Piaggio Vietnam.
The key to success of Piaggio Vietnam comes from the tireless efforts from its team. According to Mr Sambuy, every member of Piaggio Vietnam has proved himself as a stone to build Piaggio’s firm foundation. “They have proved the significant grow-up of skills, competency and leadership of every employee at factory. We do understand that personnel development is among our first priorities. Piaggio is committed to continuing its investment in training, especially empowering local employees to be the company leaders in the future,” shared Mr Sambuy.
The success of Piaggio in Vietnam reflects the effective cooperation between Piaggio and local authorities in particular and between Vietnam and Italy in general. Piaggio has proved to be one of the most successful investors in Vietnam and is a persuasive example to call for Italian and European firms to invest in Vietnam.
Le Phuong
Vietnamese
