Tighter Italian Regulations
The Coronavirus is still wreaking havoc in Italy more than many other places. The news coming out of the country doesn’t sound good, and the government has reacted to try to help mitigate the issues brought up by the virus. The new regulations imposed on March 22 will force the few remaining motorcycle facilities in the country still in operation to pause production.
Piaggio and MV Agusta both planned to stay open despite the concerns about the virus but now the companies will shut down their operations due to the new regulations, according to RideApart. Piaggio Group—which includes Moto Guzzi, Aprilia, and Vespa—noted that the facilities at Pontedera, Mandello del Lario, Noale, and Sorzè will shut down at least until April 3. MV Agusta announced that its Chiranna facility will be put on hold until further notice.
This is really not a surprise. Across Europe, motorcycle manufacturers have shut down facilities. Every brand from BMW to Yamaha has temporarily shut its doors, in an effort to keep the virus from spreading too fast. Italy seems to be in pretty bad shape at the moment, and I expect other parts of the world will use it as an example for their own planning. This isn’t the last of the temporary shutdowns we will see.