Motorbike maker Piaggio invests $75 mln more in northern Vietnam

Motorbike manufacturer Piaggio received an investment registration certificate on Tuesday to invest an additional $75 million in the northern province of Vinh Phuc, raising its total investment to $165 million.

As a result, the Italian firm is set to raise its annual capacity to 400,000 units and 400,000 engines, from 250,000 units and 300,000 engines, making Piaggio Vinh Phuc among the most import factories of the firm in the world.

Piaggio entered the northern province in 2007 and inaugurated its motorbike factory in June 2009, then its engine factory in March 2012. Currently, the two plants are merged into one 18-hectare Vinh Phuc factory in Binh Xuyen Industrial Park, Binh Xuyen district with nearly 1,000 employees.

Motorbike sales in Vietnam jumped 20.5% year-on-year to more than three million in 2022, after recording sales of 2.49 million in 2021 and 2.71 million in 2020, according to the Vietnam Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers, which includes Honda, Piaggio, Yamaha, Suzuki and SYM.

Vinh Phuc province attracted 70 foreign direct investment projects with a total registered capital of $462 million in 2022, or 2.69% above the annual target, according to provincial authorities.