The Piaggio Group has a history dating back more than 140 years. The group includes heritage brands Moto Guzzi and Vespa, and a high-performance brand in Aprilia, which has a trophy cabinet stuffed with world championships.
Yet those brands have underperformed in recent years, particularly in the UK. There’s a new marketing manager at the British office, though: Antonio Mineo. BDN spoke to him at the launch of the new Moto Guzzi Stelvio and V85 models.
Mineo joined Piaggio from the Stellantis car firm, but his heart is firmly on two wheels. “I am a biker, but not a professional biker; speed is not my best skill, but I enjoy it.”
We asked about the state of play for Piaggio’s brands in the UK. “All four brands are separate, and appeal to different market demographics, which makes my life very busy,” said Mineo. “At this moment, we have many challenges because the market looks to be struggling. We had a fantastic 2022, which was a rebound from the pandemic. We had a lot of stock, and had a record year. But of course, it is difficult to repeat the same performance.”
What about the UK dealer network? Does Mineo see a need for changes there? “We have between 25 and 30 dealers for Aprilia and Moto Guzzi, and roughly 40 dealers sell scooters. There is some overlap; and some dealers are what we call Motoplex, so they retail all four brands.
“We’re looking to add roughly 15 more dealers as quickly as possible. But we also have to look at the current network. There might be some changes, because we want to get to the next level, and we want quality dealers. We have people that have worked with us for decades, but now it may be time to change because we want to give the customer the best experience.”
Mineo is positive but points to the various hurdles that the whole industry is facing, including (again) Brexit. “Just as we thought we were out of the tunnel with the pandemic, then came Ukraine, and now we have the trouble in the Middle East, so it’s non-stop. And honestly speaking, I don’t think Brexit is doing good for the UK.
“We have plans for the future and want to get to a better position. Also, as a personal challenge, we have the lowest market share in Europe as Piaggio UK, so that is something I definitely want to improve.”
Interested in becoming a Piaggio group dealer? Contact Pete Cleverly: [email protected]