Modern Vespa

For the life of me, I can not find one place on this 2019 Primavera of mine that says "Made In Italy". Any suggestions on where to look? Every Vespa I ever had it prominently displayed.

Check the Vin for the country code.

Maybe get a support person to sit with you while you look the code up.

I believe that he wants to see the word Made in Italy as a sign of distinction and I approve.
But globalization has spoiled everything ...

Did you check for "fatto in Italia?"

On the body just below the front of the seat? Thats where I’ve seen it on a bike or two.

Completely un-noticeable unless you’re on your knees cleaning the bottom of the bike and happen to look up at the seat... kinda stupid really.

My Prima (and my earlier Sprint) was proudly made in Vietnam!

My Liberty’s VIN starts with “ZA” but under the seat there’s a sticker that says made in Vietnam. Kind of contradicting as VINs with ZA are said to be made in Italy.

What is the sticker attached to? The seat?

Maybe the seat is Vietnamese and the body is Italian.

On the video ( Robot's) someone earlier had shared about Orange Vespa's he mentions that all Vespa's sold in North America are made in Italy in Pontedera.

Or maybe it was just assembled in Italy. The “Made in [_whatever_]” for vehicles is notoriously shady.

My V85tt is proud of it! I wish Vespa would do the same. Maybe on this metal plate most US models have at the bottom of the steering wheel?

My scooter is "Made in Thailand" ... Well ... There is an advantage, if it breaks it is because it is not Made in Italy.

Hello, it should be under the seat and on the bike's docs
Pontedera builds Vespa for European and American markets; then there's a Vespa plant in India for local market and another in Vietnam for the Far East.

Pretty sure our Liberty's are made in Vietnam. If Italy - price would surely be $4000, not $3000.
Of course Piaggio's mysterious "fees" do help push the OTD to $4000+.
O.S.

We went through this year's ago. While the opening numbers start with a Z somewhere in the VIN number is a digit indicating the factory location. Piaggio Fly 150s made by Zongshen had VIN numbers starting with Z.

People who buy Lance scooters proudly point to the R VIN saying it was built in Taiwan when it's built by SYM in their China plant.

Therefore? Is the Vespa Made in Italy or not?

https://www.ericomotorsports.com/blog/are-vespa-scooters-still-made-in-italy--36304

"At 75 years, Vespa is more of a global brand than ever, and their scooters are now manufactured out of three production sites: Pontedera, with production destined for Europe and the Americas; Vinh Phuc, in Vietnam, which serves the Far East, and India, and the Baramati plant, where Vespas for the Indian and Nepalese markets are produced."

A lot of the Indian made models end up in Latin America and Central Europe.

https://www.quinewsvaldera.it/pontedera-piaggio-dati-primo-semestre-2021.htm

PONTEDERA - At 30 June 2021, the Piaggio Group sold a total of 287,100 vehicles worldwide (+ 36.5% compared to 210,300 in the first half of 2020), recording consolidated revenues of 901.7 million euros.

The data for the first half of the year were released this morning. In the two-wheeler sector, Piaggio sold 242,800 two-wheeled vehicles worldwide (+ 49% compared to 163,000 at 30 June 2020), for a net turnover of 761 million euros, an increase of + 62.7% compared to 467.6 million euros at 30 June 2020.

"Sales of two-wheelers in the first half of 2021 were particularly strong in all the geographical areas in which the Group operates. In particular, in the European market, volumes grew by almost 25%, with the Italian market growing by approximately 50%, in Asia Pacific by 66%, with the Chinese market growing by over 90%, in America and India where volumes have more than doubled ", it was explained.

Thank you for that translation. Very informative.

I found this during my weekly inspection. It is one of the legal stickers I found on/in the pet carrier. I don't know if that was the original location, as I am not the original owner and it is a a Recovered/Stolen/Salvage bike. Just came back from an awesome ride...

I guess that's as close to Made in Italy as it gets.

Yeah, just checked my VIN for my 2018 Piaggio Liberty at two sites - both stated it was made in Vietnam, which agreed with what I was told by the dealer when I purchased it new.

ZAPM898G5J_______
O.S.

So is there some sort of guide to the VIN number someplace? Asking for a friend...

Sure that's Italian? Says Pioggia in your dash, not Piaggio. I say bodge.



*kidding*

It's probably still "made" in Italy - as in final assembly - as long as the VIN indicates as much. But bearing in mind the "made in" laws, given Piaggio's plants around the world and practicalities of sourcing, it can certainly have seats from Vietnam, tons of rubbers from India, electricals from China, etc and if there's enough of this it may preclude a straight up "Made in Italy" tag (not sure where the company lawyers would draw the line)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Made_in_Italy

I have owned 4 Vespas, all purchased in the United States. The VIN of each both had the "ZA" at the start of the VIN code indicating Piaggio is based in Italy AND the "5" in the 11th digit position (factory location) indicating assembly in Pontadera. I have also owned an MP3 and a BV350 with VIN codes indicating Italy and Pontadera. To go a little further afield, I have owned a '13 Typhoon 125 with the ZA VIN prefix but a code in the eleventh digit indicating final assembly in a facility in China. I don't think the VIN coding misleads you as long as you take the time to decode it and you understand that the manufacturer obtains components wherever they choose.

VIN Decoding

Dooglas,

So how do we read the model year digit (10th)? Mine has the letter “K”. Date of manufacture is 05/2018. Bike is titled as a 2019. The letter “K” is sequentially 10 (omitting “I” as the wiki suggests).

What am I not seeing? Can you help clarify?

Thanks,

Chris from CLE

Dooglas,

Never mind. I forgot 2010…. 2010 = A. 2019 = K

Damn math.

Thanks for the info.

Chris from CLE

Thank you for the link, Mr. Dooglas...

Well, that's too much!

https://www.quattromania.it/2021/08/08/il-clone-cinese-della-ducati-panigale-il-tarocco-da-4-000-euro-video/

https://www.motoblog.it/post/moxiao-500-rr-una-ducati-panigale-ad-un-prezzo-stracciato

Moxiao 500 RR: a Ducati Panigale at a bargain price

Clearly copied design, totally different substance, bargain price: Moxiao 500 RR is the Chinese copy of the Ducati Panigale.

Let's go back to talking about Chinese clones, after having found, on the web, photos of a Ducati Panigale, in the 500 RR version. Or rather, the photos of the copy of a Ducati Panigale. This is the Moxiao 500 RR, a super sports car at just over 4,000 euros.

The design is clearly taken from the Bolognese superbike, but the substance is totally different. Factor that determines a bargain price (compared to the original model), therefore suitable for the Asian market.

The engine that drives the clone in question is well hidden under the fairing, invariably tinged with red, therefore, it does not need to show off. It is a 471cc twin-cylinder engine that delivers 48hp of maximum power at 8,500rpm and 43Nm of torque. Engine that Moxiao shares with the 500 range of Voge, a Loncin brand, which arrived in Italy for about a year.
If the engine is well hidden, then it takes a back seat, all the characteristic elements of the Panigale are also taken up by the 500 RR. From the yellow rear shock absorber spring to the strictly single-sided swingarm. And then again the fork, or the radial mount calipers of the front braking system.
Even the tires are exaggerated in size, for a bike with only 48 hp of power. The measures, in fact, refer to those used on the Panigale, proudly (and unnecessarily) showing a "humble" 190 at the rear.

And again (since we are talking about made in Italy it is worth understanding that how much a real Italian product is imitated to exploit the ideas of others.)

https://www.motoblog.it/post/928563/givi-copiata-azienda-cinese-espone-in-fiera-bauletti-copia-incolla

Copied GIVI: Chinese company exhibits "copy paste" cases at the fair

At EICMA, the Guardia di Finanza in action for the violation of the rights of illegal production by a Chinese company. Clearly copied design and closing patent.

Unlike the real bike, easier valve adjustments would a plus, and tires would last forever.

It's damn true.

You can add one. Try ebay Ducati Fuel Tank Decal Made in Italy.

My Piaggio Beverly 300 ie from 2012 has as VIN-code: ZAPM69200000xxxxx.
So ZA: made in Italy
P: by Piaggio
M692: model type, I guess.

Of the record: the VIN-code of cars made in France starts with VF, which stands for "Voiture Française" or "French car".

This is all most confusing !
ZA to me means "South Africa"...
The South African Rand (our currency) is internationally referred to as ZAR !

Edit: I see from the Wikipedia article that South Africa is AA to AH