NAZA IN DEAL WITH ITALY'S PIAGGIO ON LIFESTYLE MOTORCYCLES

KUALA LUMPUR, May 4 (Bernama) -- The market for lifestyle and high engine
capacity motorcycles and scooters is expected to further increase to 3,000 units
this year, Naza group of companies' joint group executive chairman SM
Faisal SM Nasimuddin said Tuesday.

"The total industry volume in 2009 dropped around 14.5 per cent as compared
to 2008. However, the lifestyle segment increased approximately by 40 per cent,
from 1,800 units to 2,500 units last year," he said.

This provided a strong platform for Naza to venture into the bigger capacity
luxury motorcycles segment when it signed a distributorship agreement with
Piaggio, one of the world's leading manufacturers of two-wheel motor vehicles.

SM Faisal said under the terms of the agreement, Naza would become the local
distributor for the Piaggio, Aprilia, Gilera and Vespa brands under the Italian
motorcycle group.

"We are targeting to sell 700 to 1,000 units of the motorcycles this year
from this segment, out of which 50 per cent will be from Vespa," he said at the
Naza-Piaggio signing ceremony here.

The group had already received bookings for 68 units of the Aprilia model,
said Naza's executive vice president, operation, SM Zulkifli SM Amin.

Today's agreement was signed between SM Faisal and Piaggio's managing
director for Asia Pacific region, Mark Franklin.

The signing was witnessed by Deputy International Trade and Industry
Minister Mukhriz Tun Mahathir and Italian Embassy's commercial affairs
attache Fabrizio Vergamini.

SM Faisal said Naza planned to invest about RM6 million (US$1.86 million) in
the
distributorship which would include an exclusive retail showroom with
after-sales facilities.

The products would also be distributed under the Naza World of Bikes
umbrella, he said.

Besides motorcycles and scooters, the company would also distribute
accessories and general merchandise for all the motorcycle brands in an effort
to promote their appeal to Malaysians, SM Faisal said.

"With its vast experience in retailing lifestyle motorcycles, the group aims
to increase sales of these brands, thereby repositioning them as the preferred
choice of lifestyle products through its existing database of around 250,000
customers," he said.

Naza currently also holds distributorship rights for the Ducati motorcycle
brand in addition to car brands that include Ferrari and Maserati.

SM Faisal also said that it would explore the possibility of locally
assembling at least one of the brands for the Asean region.

-- BERNAMA



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