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Aprilia is Europe's
second largest producer of motorcycles and scooters and the
only non-Japanese manufacturer with a complete range of two-wheeled
vehicles.
Aprilia is an unconventional and ultra-modern company even
in terms of its organisation. Strategic planning, design,
marketing and all know how are concentrated in Aprilia’s
historical home in Noale near Venice. Just a few kilometres
away, still in the province of Venice, lies the Scorzè
production plant that was expanded and partly restructured
in 1997.
Scorzè’s assembly lines increased from 8 to 11
in number, giving the plant its currents production capacity
of 2,500 units a day (between motorcycles and scooters).
From the time individual parts reach the assembly line right
up to the moment each motorcycle undergoes final testing in
a special computer controlled test cell, each phase of production
is subjected to rigorous quality control. Aprilia’s
quality management system is certified to ISO 9001:2000 standard.

The company’s Logistics Centre is also based in Noale.
The Centre occupies an area of nearly 70,000 square metres
(31,000 of which are indoors). The nearby town of Santa Maria
di Sala is home to Customer Service, the organisation that
manages Aprilia’s after sales service to dealers and
customers, no mean task considering that there are about 2
million Aprilia motorcycles on the roads of the world today.
A new Aprilia motorcycle or scooter is sold somewhere in the
world on average every 3 minutes, a success based on advanced
technology and excellence and innovation in design.
Aprilia’s share of export markets has grown dramatically
in recent years. In 1992 Aprilia earned 27 billion Liras from
exports. Today that figure has risen to over 250 million Euros.
Aprilia’s sales network boasts 250 official dealers
and 800 authorised sales outlets in Italy. Aprilia also owns
8 foreign subsidiaries, in France, Spain, Germany, Holland,
Greece, Britain, the USA and Japan. Aprilia machines are sold
in another 29 countries worldwide via a network of exclusive
importers who supply 1,800 dealers.
The company’s marketing objective for the short term
is to penetrate the strategic markets of China and India,
the two countries that now account for the sale of most of
the world’s vehicle production.
Negotiations with Chinese and Indian industries are already
at an advanced stage and will soon enable Aprilia to take
a giant step forward in the implementation of its strategy
for globalisation.
Aprilia is not just market leader. In very little time the
company has become a leading name on the world’s racing
circuits too, establishing itself as one of the most prestigious
and successful marques around.
Since 1985, when Aprilia first entered the world speed championships,
the company has won 26 world titles.
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