Piaggio to widen China's Zongshen links to include CVs

Italian scooter giant Piaggio SpA said it and China's Zongshen Industrial Group have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at finalising a feasibility plan for a joint venture in three and four wheel commercial vehicles.

In 2004, Piaggio and the privately-owned Zongshen set up a joint venture at Foshan in Guangdong province to produce components, motors, scooters and motorbikes based on Piaggio technology, it said.

The latest commercial vehicle joint venture would develop and produce a range of Ape brand three and four-wheel vehicles, powered by petrol and diesel motors, for sale on the Chinese market, it said.

In 2007, the Piaggio/Zongshen two-wheel joint venture produced 209,000 vehicles, of which 57,000 used Piaggio technology, it said.

This venture is owned 45 percent by each of Piaggio and Zongshen, while the Foshan municipality owns 10 percent, it said.

In a commercial vehicle venture, the two industrial partners would have equal stakes, it said, without other details.

Tuesday's signing of the memorandum took place at Piaggio's headquarters at Pontedera, Tuscany during a visit by Chongqing mayor Wang Hongju, it said.

Zongshen's headquarters are in Chongqing near China's Sichuan province and the new joint venture would be based there, it said.

In commercial vehicles, Piaggio's first half worldwide unit sales rose 8.9 percent to 92,000, it said.

Piaggio is already expanding its commercial vehicle activities in India.