Vespa’s first electric scooter is coming in 2018 with 100km mileage

One year to the day from the announcement that Vespa was getting its first electric option, parent company Piaggio has returned to the Milan Motorcycle Show and let loose (almost) all the information about the forthcoming scooter. What’s missing, unfortunately, is the price. There’s also no exact window on when it will ship in 2018. But eager customers from around the world will be able to preorder it in the spring.

The Vespa Elettrica will have a range of 100 kilometers, or about 62 miles. Like with most electric vehicles, that number will be flexible, and will depend on how you ride it. But for comparison, 62 miles is about three times less than the 174-mile range of the 50cc Vespa Primavera, one of the most affordable scooters in the company’s current lineup.

Similar range to other electric scooters, but a third of Vespa’s cheapest gas options

Piaggio says the Elettrica should have “superior performance” to a 50cc scooter, but even if that’s true — which is possible considering the jolting acceleration you typically get with electric motors — it will come at the cost of range. That’s probably why, despite confusingly boisterous claims, like “no vehicle in the world is now as in line with zero-emission propulsion as Vespa,” Piaggio also coyly admits in the Elettrica press release that the scooter is “perfect for city environments.”