Piaggio's Vespa Elettrica will hit the US in April, costs $7,499
It's had a long run-up to now, but Piaggio's electric scooter is available for preorder to US and Canadian buyers.
Piaggio first announced its Vespa Elettrica electric scooter back in 2017, and it has since gone into production. We heard about pricing for European markets last month, but as of Tuesday, Piaggio has opened its US preorders, and we now have actual US pricing.
What will this little electron-powered Italian beauty set you back? A whopping $7,499, some $200 more than we had initially expected. Not cheap, and unlikely to get cheaper, either, thanks to the current government's lack of interest in extending the 10-percent electric motorcycle tax credit.
As a refresher, the Vespa Elettrica's motor is rated for 3.5 kilowatts of continuous output, with 4 kilowatts of peak output. That's around 5 horsepower, which doesn't sound like much until you start talking about the Elettrica's torque, which comes in at 147.5 pound-feet. For comparison, the ludicrously fast 1,100cc V4-powered Tuono motorcycle from Vespa's sister brand, Aprilia, only manages 89 pound-feet. Electricity FTW.
Piaggio claims that the Elettrica has a range of around 62 miles from its 4.2-kilowatt-hour battery, which is surprisingly usable, particularly since the primary use case for a Vespa is intracity commuting and errand-running. Couple that with the comfortable and unintimidating ergonomics of a traditional scooter and the Elettrica makes a pretty convincing case for itself, even with its Level 2 charge time of four hours.
If silently wafting through traffic with a half-helmet, bomber goggles and a scarf sounds like your particular cup of espresso, then you can log your preorder through Piaggio directly for $749. Piaggio says the first Elettrica deliveries will take place in April of next year.
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