Story and Photo by:

Ashish Bhatia

Piaggio Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. (Piaggio) has launched the new Ape City+ three-wheeler. Marking the Original Equipment Manufacturer’s foray into mid-body, three-wheeler segment, the Ape City+ aims at carving out a niche in the mass volume segment, estimated to be 1,20,000 units approximately (80,000 CNG/LPG units and 40,000 diesel units). An outcome of ground-up development by Piaggio’s product development teams from Italy and India, the three-wheeler comes in four fuel variants, LPG, CNG, Petrol and Diesel. It, according to Diego Graffi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, will plug the gaps in last mile transportation. “There is a requirement of a versatile commercial people carrier which can cater to intracity and outskirt applications,” he stated. The LPG Ape City+ and the CNG Ape City+ variants are priced at Rs.183,220 and Rs.192,241 (ex-showroom Mumbai) respectively. The Petrol Ape City+ and Diesel Ape City+ are priced at Rs.171,709 and Rs.184,110 (ex-showroom Mumbai) respectively.

Available in three colours – green, yellow and black, the new Ape City+ will compete with the likes of Bajaj RE, which is the segment leader. Boasting of best-in-class mileage, class-leading power and torque, superior headroom, best-in-class legroom, extra luggage space and higher ground clearance, the Ape City+ is part of the company’s strategy to address the needs of the customers in a BSVI scenario. Measuring 2880 mm in length, 1435 mm in width and 1970 mm in height, the Ape City+ has a 197 mm ground clearance. It is powered by a 230 cc (Aluminium alloy) three-valve engine. The LPG Ape City+ is powered by a single-cylinder, forced air cooled engine that develops 11.31 hp at 4900 rpm and a peak torque of 20.37 Nm at 3000 rpm. The CNG Ape City+ develops 10.14 hp at 4800 rpm and a torque of 17.51 Nm at 3000 rpm. It is powered by the same engine as the Ape LPG variant. The diesel variant, at the other, has a displacement capacity of 436 cc and churns out 8.05 hp at 3600 rpm and 21 Nm at 2200 to 2400 rpm. Backed by a warranty of 36 months or one lakh kilometres (whichever is earlier), the three-wheeler will encourage its buyers to avail of the ‘Super Saver’ scheme. The scheme provides customers with five scheduled services, free of cost. There are no charges for general maintenance, parts and labour in the first year. The Diesel Ape’ City+ variant comes with a 42 months or 1.2 lakh kilometres warranty (whichever is earlier).