The MP3 Hybrid 125 is a three-wheeled scooter that is currently on sale across Europe and comes with petrol and electric motors that cumulatively produce 17.5 BHP of power.
Piaggio India has imported the MP3 Hybrid 125 scooter for research and development (R&D), evaluation and testing purposes in the country. A popular offering in Europe, the MP3 Hybrid is a three-wheeled scooter with a petrol-electric powertrain that sets it apart from anything we’ve ever seen on Indian streets before. While Piaggio does retail the niche Vespa scooters in India, it will not be launching the MP3 Hybrid in the country anytime soon at least.
An aggressive design coupled with 2 wheels in front and 1 wheel at the back, the Piaggio MP3 Hybrid 125 comes with some sporty credentials and very interesting front suspension geometry. Both the front wheels are suspended individually but are connected using an alloy parallelogram that allows the wheels to lean into a corner. Powering the scooter is a 125cc single-cylinder petrol engine producing 14 BHP of power coupled with an electric motor that produces 3.5 BHP of power. The scooter comes with 3 riding modes – petrol-only, electric-only and combined only with the latter mode offering some cumulate 17.5 BHP of power. However with a 200 kg weight, the MP3 is heavier than most scooters on the block.
While the Indian scooter market has been experiencing exponential growth in terms of sales, it is still far from accepting a premium price tag and state-of-the-art technology on a scooter. Even if launched in India, the market is still not mature enough for a product like the MP3 Hybrid that will easily cost well over a lakh even with local assembly. Nonetheless, Piaggio’s R&D division could look into hybrid technology employed in the scooter that could make it on its future offerings.
Source – Zauba.com
