Piaggio Scooters for sale

Like other Italians, he had seen the Cushman motorbikes used by US and other military forces during World War II. But, he wanted a design that was easier for women to drive and provided some protection from muddy roads.

The development of the Vespa scooter design is credited to Corradino DAscanio, an aeronautics engineer. But, D’Ascanio did not originally work for Piaggio. He was at first employed by Innocenti to design what would become the Lambretta scooter.

It was an age of discovery and innovations. It seems unusual that two Italian manufacturers were attempting to develop what was virtually the same mode of transportation at the same time. But, that’s what happened.

The success of Piaggio scooters was driven by popular movies and Hollywood actors. The cash flow generated by the success allowed the company to develop other products including a tiny passenger car called the Vespa 400.

The Agnelli family gained control of the company in 1959. The family also owned the Fiat automobile company.

Since both companies had been involved in the production of airplanes, automobiles and motorcycles for many years, they were able to split and form two separate companies in 1964. IAM Rinaldo Piaggio became the aeronautical division. It was named after the original founder of the family business, which produced locomotives and rail cars.

Piaggio scooters fell under the umbrella of “Piaggio & Company SpA”. In 1969, the company purchased Gilera, another Italian motorcycle manufacturer famous for the 1939 Saturno.

The company thrived for many years under the direction of the Agnelli family. When Giovanni Alberto Agnelli died in 1997, the company was sold to London-based Morgan, Grenfell & Co. By 2002, the company was deep in debt and near bankruptcy.

Roberto Colaninno is credited with saving it in 2003 when he purchased a third of it and took over as CEO. By the end of 2004, the designers had rolled out two world firsts; a gas-electric hybrid and a unique model with two wheels in the front and one in the back.

Now, Piaggio scooters include the brands Vespa, Aprilia, Derbi and Moto Guzzi. What was originally a small family business has become the fourth largest producer of motorcycles in the world.