On May 2, 2022, the Piaggio Group released its official 2022 first quarter financial report—and things are looking extremely good. Overall, consolidated net sales rose 18.5 percent, which the company says represents the single best first quarter results in the company’s history. If you’re a company, there are definitely worse ways to start a year.
The total number of Piaggio Group vehicles sold worldwide increased to 141,800, which is a five percent increase year-on-year. This increase was largely driven by a 32.8 percent rise in the Asia Pacific region, as well as a 22.6 percent rise across the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region combined with the Americas.
Of the 141,800 total vehicles sold, 119,000 of them were two-wheelers. That’s a 15.3 percent increase in two-wheeler sales over the same period in 2021. Net sales were 374,000 million Euros, which is a 26 percent increase over 2021 figures. It’s worth noting that this amount also includes sales of parts and accessories, which decreased slightly year-on-year (29.4 million Euros sold in 2022 vs. 29.6 million Euros in 2021).
Who bought all these two-wheelers? Once again, sales were strongest in the Asia Pacific region, where they rose by 32.8 percent over 2021. The EMEA region saw a sales rise of 27.6 percent, while the Americas saw a rise of 25.8 percent.
Globally, scooter sales for the Piaggio Group rose 12.4 percent, mainly due to the internationally beloved nature of the Vespa brand. Piaggio specifically called out strong sales across Indonesia, China, and Vietnam as a strong part of the Asia Pacific region’s growth in the past quarter.
Piaggio Group also reported a 45 percent increase in overall motorcycle sales for 2022 Q1, which it credits in large part to strong Moto Guzzi V7 and V85TT sales. Although it didn’t give numbers for those or any other specific bike or scooter models, Piaggio also said that strong Aprilia Tuareg 660 and RS 660 sales played a significant role in this positive result.
Commercial Piaggio Group vehicle sales were down year on year for 2022 Q1, with a 28.5 percent decrease over the same period in 2021. According to Piaggio, this is partly due to the fact that India is still reeling from the global pandemic, and a significant number of its commercial vehicles are sold in that market. Sales volumes fell there, which precipitated the decline in the total amount sold overall.
Another area where Piaggio Group reported information but didn’t give specific numbers is in the Piaggio Fast Forward realm. If you’ll recall, that’s the Piaggio robotics program, which is responsible for the robot known as Gita. In Q1 of 2022, PFF introduced Gita’s smaller, lighter sibling, gitamini. PFF launched various pilot programs over the course of the quarter in its hometown of Boston, Massachusetts, “where the circulation of robots on city streets is already regulated,” per the official press release. Additionally, PFF is co-developing “robots and machines to follow humans and other devices in industrial applications” alongside the NASDAQ-listed industrial technology firm Trimble.
