Piaggio has launched the Vespa Red in India in India as part of its partnership with RED. The scooter is essentially an instrument for Piaggio and Vespa to underline the company’s commitment to the fight against AIDS. Farhan Akhtar was present at the occassion to present the Vespa Red to the media in Mumbai. The Vespa RED has been priced at Rs. 87,009/- ex showroom Mumbai and will be available for sale at Vespa dealerships across the country.
Every purchase of the Vespa Red will contribute $50 USD or a little more than Rs 3000 donation to the Global Fund to fight AIDS in India. According to an official release by Vespa, each Vespa Red scooter sale would provide more than 165 days of lifesaving HIV medication to help save an HIV AIDS infected mother’s life and prevent her from passing the virus to her unborn baby.
The Vespa Red is offered in a unique red body colour. The engine and the rest of the mechanicals are mostly similar to the stock Vespa 125 scooter with 10.06PS of power and 10.06 Nm of torque. The scooter gets 12” red alloy wheels, red art leather seats has a 220 mm front disc brake. The scooter gets a monocoque single piece steel body, aircraft inspired single sided front suspension and is offered with colour coordinated Vespa Red merchandise including a helmet, T-shirt and hat.
(RED) was founded in 2006 by Bono and Bobby Shriver to harness the power of people and companies to help fight AIDS. (RED) partners with the world’s most iconic brands that contribute up to 50% of profits from (RED)-branded goods and services to the Global Fund. To date, (RED) has generated more than $475 million for the Global Fund to fight AIDS and support HIV/AIDS grants. 100% of that money goes to work on the ground – no overhead is taken. Global Fund grants that (RED) supports have impacted more than 90 million people with prevention, treatment, counseling, HIV testing and care services.
The Piaggio Group too, through its charity program “Vespa for Children” has historically been sensitive to the problems connected with protecting the health of children
Farhan Akhtar said, in support of the cause represented by the collaboration, “I am privileged to present this initiative to the country and proud to own the first (VESPA)RED bike. I am honored to be a part of this endeavor for the fight to end AIDS here in India.”
Commenting on the launch, Mr. Diego Graffi, Managing Director and CEO of Piaggio Vehicles Private Limited (PVPL) said, “It is a matter of great pride for us to introduce the (VESPA)RED in the country. The iconic Vespa is a socially responsible brand and has always given back to society in supporting similar causes in other geographies. Through this association in India, we aim to provide an environment where people are better equipped to fight preventable and treatable diseases.”
“We’re thrilled that, through our ongoing partnership, Piaggio is – for the very first time – now raising money to support the critical work of the Global Fund in India,” said Deborah Dugan, CEO of (RED). “The (VESPA)RED is beautiful not only because of its striking red color and great design, but the best feature of this scooter is that it’s fighting AIDS.”
Visitor Rating: 4 Stars