2-3 Wheeled Motor Vehicles

The 2- and 3-wheel motor vehicles typically include electric and pedal-assisted bicycles, mopeds up to 150 cc, motorcycles over 150 cc, high-performance maxi-motorcycles, and special 3-wheel vehicles for transporting people or goods. More recently, the major innovations have been the spread of electric bicycles, enabled by the availability of lithium batteries; the gradual replacement of 2-stroke engines in mopeds with more efficient and less polluting 4-stroke engines; improved combustion in heat engines thanks to control electronics; and improvements in cycling with a gradual entry into the market of new materials and 3-wheel solutions.

The largest global motorcycle manufacturers are oriental: Honda produces about 16 million units per year; Yamaha 6 million. Unknown brands in Italy such as the Indian companies Hero and Bajaj produce together about 9 million units per year; the Chinese Lifan, Longcin and Shineray produce together 3 million units per year. Italian domestic production is very far from these figures: Ducati sells around 50 thousand units per year worldwide. However, Italy is recognized as a high quality producer and remains the third largest exporter after China and Japan. The Italian market for motorcycles and scooters in 2021 was 270,232 units sold, the best result since 2011 (Source: Sole 24 ore).

The growing attention to environmental policies, often linked to the need to contain traffic in urban areas, has led to the development of the market for two- and three-wheeled vehicles, with particular attention to two-wheeled vehicles with electric propulsion. While in the field of traditionally powered vehicles there are no notable innovations, for electrically powered vehicles in recent years there have been numerous technological innovations that have allowed them to excel in the recent market.