Review of the new Piaggio MP3 LT 500 ABS-ASR
Eight years after having revolutionized the world of “ motorized two-wheelers ” with its first three-wheeled scooter MP3 125, Piaggio deeply overhauls its flagship model, the MP3 LT 500, to make it safer, more efficient, more comfortable and more practical. Contact !
Piaggio redesigns its bestseller
Launched in 2006, the "" represented a daring – even risky – bet for Piaggio, given the "heavy investments"agreed by the Pontedera brand in this project.
|
MP3 LT 500: availability, colors and price |
|
Naturally, the sums spent remain confidential … But questioned by Site, the marketing and network development manager at Piaggio France, Laurent Videmont, affirms that it is "simply obvious that the time, human and technological resources put in place have enabled Piaggio to validate the best solutions in terms of comfort, durability and reliability.".
Resounding, the success of the first MP3 was increased tenfold two years later with the LT models (for "Large Tread" or "wide track" in French, read our), with larger displacement but still accessible to motorists because they are related to tricycles and not to motorcycles … Nuance !
Expertly maintained thanks to increases in displacement (from 250 to 300 cc for the medium, from 400 to 500 cc for the big one) and well-felt range extensions (more urban Yourban, more sporty Fuoco), the success of the MP3s is phenomenal. in France.
It is in fact in our country that nearly half of the "150,000 MP3s sold worldwide, all versions combined", states Leo Francesco Mercanti, product marketing director at Piaggio.
"Today, one in five scooter sales (over 50 cc) is a three-wheeler", illustrates the CEO of Piaggio France, Federico Musi,"and the MP3 500 (400 previously) has been the best-selling scooter in France for four years".
It is mainly thanks to MP3s that Piaggio saw its market share (in scooters over 125 cc) jump in Europe from 6.8% in 2007 to 17.6% in 2013, taking the opposite direction from competition swept away by a serious .
The only failure to be deplored in the family of three-wheeled scooters from Piaggio: that of the MP3 Hybrid … "Demand does not yet exist for this type of hybrid motorization and this demand is not stimulated or encouraged by purchasing assistance measures, unlike the automobile", regrets Laurent Videmont.
However, the French official does not consider this setback to be definitive: "it was important for Piaggio to master this innovative solution and this technology in order to be ready when needed". Meanwhile, Piaggio engineers have set their sights on their bestseller: the MP3 LT 500 !
During the world press presentation organized in Paris – where else? -, the new director of product development at Piaggio (he arrived only a few months ago) introduces himself: "I worked for Pininfarina, Fiat and Toyota … Believe me, the MP3 is the vehicle that every car manufacturer would like to have in their range … but that they cannot do !"
Certainly, the competitors were long, very long to relax … but Andrea Benedetto zaps a little quickly – and on purpose ?! – Peugeot, which has been offering for a year, between its GT scooter and its small city car 107, a three-wheeled scooter called !
Site readers – who, as everyone knows, are a little luckier than others – know that Toyota is also in the running with its own vision of the three-wheeled urban vehicle, the i-road (read).
Other scooter and motorized two-wheeler specialists are also on the niche: Quadro with its 350S, a creation of Luciano Marabese who was at the origin of the technology used by the MP3 (read our), as well as the duo Yamaha and MBK who will release their own three-wheeled scooter this summer (read)…
To ward off all these attacks, the most popular, the biggest and – incidentally – the most expensive MP3 is undergoing a major change in 2014: "our scooter has been over 80% renewed", warns Leo Francesco Mercanti. A high rate which, if one limits oneself to a face to face with the machine, seems at first sight questionable … and yet!.
Related articles
-
3-wheeler – Review of the new Piaggio MP3 LT 500 ABS-ASR – Official videos MP3 LT 500 2014
Review of the new Piaggio MP3 LT 500 ABS-ASR Eight years after having revolutionized the world of “ motorized two-wheelers ” with its first…
-
3-wheeler – Test of the new Piaggio MP3 LT 500 ABS-ASR – Crossing Paris in three-wheelers
Review of the new Piaggio MP3 LT 500 ABS-ASR Eight years after having revolutionized the world of “ motorized two-wheelers ” with its first…
-
3-wheeler – Test of the new Piaggio MP3 LT 500 ABS-ASR – The new MP3, ABS-ASR extra
Review of the new Piaggio MP3 LT 500 ABS-ASR Eight years after having revolutionized the world of “ motorized two-wheelers ” with its first…
-
3-wheeler – Testing the new Piaggio MP3 LT 500 ABS-ASR – MNC testing the new MP3 LT 500
Review of the new Piaggio MP3 LT 500 ABS-ASR Eight years after having revolutionized the world of “ motorized two-wheelers ” with its first three-…
-
3-wheeler – Review of the new Piaggio MP3 LT 500 ABS-ASR – 2014 MP3 LT 500 technical sheet
Review of the new Piaggio MP3 LT 500 ABS-ASR Eight years after having revolutionized the world of “ motorized two-wheelers ” with its first…
-
Tricity Vs MP3 Yourban 300 LT: the Yamaha 3-wheeler defies the Piaggio benchmark As the first Japanese manufacturer to tackle Piaggio’s hegemony in the…
-
MP3 300 HPE test: the compact three-wheeled scooter from Piaggio Piaggio replaces its Yourban 300 in 2019: more opulent than its predecessor and more…
-
Interview Piaggio France: MP3 350 and 500 2018, hybrid, Gilera , Yamaha three-wheeler , etc.. Site took advantage of the launch of the new 2018 range of…
-
Tricity Vs MP3 Yourban 300 LT: the Yamaha 3-wheeler defies the Piaggio benchmark First Japanese manufacturer to tackle Piaggio’s hegemony in the…
-
Business – MP3, Metropolis: the three-wheeler war will take place – Used PEUGEOT PIAGGIO
MP3, Metropolis: the three-wheeler war will take place Piaggio’s MP3 500 LT reigns supreme in the three-wheel scooter market in France, but Peugeot has…