Footsteps of a Legend: The Journey of Vespa in Indonesia Through the Years

Vespa's journey in Indonesia began in the 1950s, when this scooter with its revolutionary shape first arrived and immediately became a favourite of the public. Entering the 1960s, Vespa made a precious mark when it was chosen as an official honour from the Indonesian government for the Garuda Contingent peacekeepers serving in the Congo. Its popularity soared in the 1970s and 1980s with classic variants such as the Sprint 150cc, Super 150cc and Special 90cc, followed by a line of 200cc big engine models such as the Vespa Excel and Spartan.

The 1990s to the early 2000s were an important phase of Vespa's technological transformation in Indonesia. The arrival of the Vespa Corsa in the 90s pioneered Indonesia's first automatic scooters, with an automatic transmission and electric starter. Later, Vespa's 50th anniversary was marked by the birth of the Vespa ET series—such as the ET4, which brought a fully automatic 4-stroke engine—which also became the basis of a limited edition for the Ferrari Formula 1 team. This transition strengthened Vespa's position as a lifestyle icon that goes beyond an ordinary two-wheeler.

Vespa's footing in Indonesia became more solid after PT Piaggio Indonesia was officially established in 2011, bringing in the Vespa LX 150 2v and S 150 2v. In the following years the product line kept expanding with the Vespa GTS 250, PX 150, Primavera 150 3v, Sprint 150 3v and the exclusive collector's edition Vespa 946 Ricordo Italiano. Vespa's lifestyle commitment was further proven by a global collaboration with Giorgio Armani in 2015 to celebrate the Piaggio Group's 130th anniversary, followed by the Vespa Settantesimo (70th Anniversary) celebration in Azzurro 70 and the introduction of i-get engine technology in 2016.

Vespa keeps delivering relentless innovation to impress automotive lovers across the country. As the Primavera model turned 50 in 2018, Vespa upgraded its line-up in 2019 with the GTS Super Tech 300 HPE ABS, the first to feature a colour TFT digital display. The trend of fashion and art collaborations got even bigger in 2020 with the limited edition Primavera Sean Wotherspoon. The peak came in 2021, when Vespa's 75th anniversary celebration and the launch of the Vespa Picnic were celebrated in style amid global production passing the 19 million unit mark.

Editor: Arief Aszhari

Source: https://www.liputan6.com/otomotif/read/4622925/mengenal-sejarah-vespa-di-indonesia-dari-generasi-ke-generasi