Moving forward, Piaggio India will be focusing on the Aprilia Storm 125 and SR 160 scooters
The Aprilia SR 150 entered the largely unexplored premium automatic scooter territory in India and quickly created a niche for itself. The huge fan following for the sporty scooter with youthful design, powerful engine, larger wheels and good handling encouraged Piaggio India to make the SR brand more accessible by introducing the 125 cc variant.
The Aprilia SR 125 did make the Italian brand more accessible to Indian audience but the company felt a slightly lower price point would make it an even greater success. Enter the Storm 125, a low-cost version of the SR 125 which took a different nameplate so that it wont dilute the SR’s premium appeal.
Aprilia SR 125 to be discontinued
With Aprilia Storm 125 taking the responsibility of bringing sales volumes off the SR 125’s shoulders, the latter now finds itself in an awkward market position. The narrow price disparity between the Storm 125 and SR 125 in addition to significant performance boost offered by the new SR 160 for a reasonably small additional investment makes the smaller SR sort of redundant. It seems Piaggio India has come to a similar conclusion as well.
Zigwheels reports that the Aprilia SR 125 will be discontinued in India once the existing stock depletes. The move is aimed at focusing more on the Storm brand for the 125 cc segment and retaining the SR’s premium appeal by offering it only in the 160 avatar. So, if you like the smaller SR, it is about time you get in touch with your local Piaggio dealer and try for a good deal.
SR 125 vs Storm 125
The Aprilia Storm 125 is essentially an SR 125 minus certain features. The design is pretty much identical but the Storm adopts matte paint job, fresh decals, an analog instrument console, dual-purpose tyres and a single headlamp element instead of SR 125’s twin elements. Moreover, the low-cost version loses out on front disc brake but is equipped with combi-braking system.
Both scooters are powered by an air-cooled 125 cc engine which is mated to a CVT. Power and torque figures stand at 9.5 hp and 9.8 Nm respectively.
Price
The Aprilia scooter range witnessed a hefty price hike to the tune of INR 20,000 when they received BS6 upgrade. The Aprilia Storm 125 currently retails at around INR 87,000 while the SR 125 asks for a little over INR 95,0000. For reference, the Aprilia SR 160 starts at INR 1.04 lakh (all prices are ex-showroom).
