bp-Piaggio MoU to accelerate electric mobility revolution

bp and Piaggio Group plan to work together to develop and roll out a comprehensive set of services for the rapidly growing number of two- and three-wheeled electric vehicles across Europe and Asia, which will help accelerate the electric mobility revolution for this market segment.

Electric motorbikes, motor scooters and compact commercial vehicles – are today  the most highly electrified vehicle class globally, with 44% of sales and 25% of the existing global fleet  – or around 250 million vehicles – already electric. It has been estimated that by 2040 the proportion of sales of these vehicles that are electric may rise to over 80% and the number of electric two and three-wheelers globally may triple to 750 million. 

Growing adoption of electric two- and three-wheelers globally

Bringing together Piaggio’s extensive e-vehicle production operations and infrastructure management  capabilities with bp’s expertise and global reach, the companies aim to support the growing adoption  of electric two- and three-wheelers globally to help address city congestion and reduce pollution in urban areas. 

“The huge and fast growing two- and three-wheeler market is already leading the way for electrification, and we see great  potential for continued growth across both Asia and Europe,” said Richard Bartlett, bp’s senior vice president, future mobility & solutions.

“Working closely with Piaggio Group – a world leader in this market – we will aim to develop and  deliver the innovative services that customers will need. This will support the growth of rapid and truly convenient urban mobility using zero tailpipe emission vehicles, enabling reductions in air pollution  and helping cities in their efforts to decarbonize.” 

An electric mobility revolution

“Working together with bp will help us deliver our idea and offer of a mobility revolution,” said Michele  Colaninno, chief of strategy and product of the Piaggio Group. “To achieve this goal, it is necessary to  promote the widespread adoption of electric vehicles such as motorbikes, motor scooters and  compact commercial vehicles equipped with battery swap technology or plug-in charging, thus encouraging a more sustainable life-cycle management of batteries and greater respect for the  environment. Working with bp is an incredible starting point to enhance our strategy.” 

Under their memorandum of understanding (MoU), Piaggio Group and bp, along with affiliate Jio-bp in India,  will explore opportunities to work together to offer charging and battery swap stations, as well as  developing all-encompassing services such as ‘Battery as a Service’ (BaaS) – leasing, management  and recycling of vehicle batteries – and ‘Vehicle as a Service’ (VaaS) – leasing, repair, maintenance  and smart energy management of these vehicles. Initial efforts and focus will be on India, where Jio bp and Piaggio are already engaged in developing electric vehicle solutions. The companies also  intend to explore opportunities in broader Asia – in China, Indonesia, and Vietnam – and in Europe.