Italian scooter maker Piaggio SpA has begun making Vespa scooter at its first plant in Vietnam, thus making inroads into one of the largest scooter markets of the world. Piaggio plans to sell about 50,000 Vespas annually from its $ 30 million plant in northern province of Vinh Phuc, near capital Hanoi.

Hoang Trung hai, Deputy Prime Minister, said that Piaggio should use Vietnam as a manufacturing hub for the Asian market. The company said that it planned to sell Vespa LX 125 at the price of $3,450 in Vietnam. This is almost three times the price of Japanese Honda Dream, the most popular two-wheeler in the country. But, it is also 70% of the price of LX 125s that are made in Italy and are widely sold in Vietnam.

Motorbikes are still a common means of transport among people in Vietnam with a population of about 86 million. The Ministry of Industry has predicted the number of motor bikes to increase from 25 million presently to 35 million by 2015. Total sales of motorbikes were at 2.5 million units in 2007, more than a million of which belonged to Honda Motors.