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For decades the little Apé tricycle scooter, with a cab for the driver and a cargo body over the back wheels, has been a symbol of Italy. Now it’s headed for a new lease of life in Asia.
The Apé – the name is Italian for bee – is buzzing off to India where cheap, short-distance haulage is in big demand.
At the end of 2024, after more than three quarters of a century, the last Apé model rolled off the production line at Piaggio’s main factory in Tuscany. The last models retailed for €7,000 (US$7,200) each.
In future, assembly will only happen in India, and the vehicles are only for customers in Asia and Africa.

Fans of old-school transport have been marking the demise of one of the world’s most basic urban commercial vehicles with nostalgic tributes.
Yet anyone who has tried to overtake a meandering Apé loaded with a haystack on a rural road will probably be pleased to see them gone.

The Apé is powered by a tiny two-stroke engine that rattles like an old moped, and it tends to get in the way of other traffic on country roads, especially in Italy, where you see them everywhere.
Emissions were not an issue when this smoky tricycle appeared in 1948 and it has not got much cleaner since. It has now fallen foul of EU regulations on exhaust emissions.
In Italy, fans can console themselves for the time being with the fact that a few hundred leftover models are still being sold.












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The Apé was actually just a further three-wheeled development of the Vespa scooter or “wasp” Italian scooter. It was sold as a pickup or box van.
The Apé has a simple handlebar and no steering wheel. There are grips left and right, together with a motorcycle-style throttle and brakes. It has two folding windows, no heating and can manage a top speed of 40km/h (25mph) at best.
Despite its primitive nature, the Apé could transport loads of more than 200kg (440lbs), making it ideal for working in the fields, between groves of olive trees or in the vineyards. The tricycle was cheap, simple and virtually indestructible.

Qualities like these were needed in Italy in the austere post-war years.
“Cars and lorries were too expensive, especially for small companies. The Apé was the perfect solution”, said automotive historian Giorgio Sarti.
It remained so for decades. In some places, the tin box was practically part of the household and was passed down through the generations.

Whole families crowded into the narrow cab while children perched perilously on the little loading bay.
An editorial in La Repubblica newspaper remarked that the Apé was a perfect expression of the Italian national character between individualism and family spirit.
“You feel at home alone in the cab, with goods or tools behind you. But you can also ride in it as a couple, closer together and with a touch of intimacy. Or, despite all the regulations and safety considerations, to celebrate with friends.’
The Apé has now largely disappeared from large cities such as Rome and Milan, where it was usually only found near markets. However, some remain in use for advertising campaigns.


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Asia travel

A Piaggio Apé three-wheeler van in Rome, Italy. Photo: Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Production of the Piaggio Apé has been moved from Italy to India, and the three-wheeler will only be sold in Asia and Africa from now on. Photo: Shutterstock

A 1972 Piaggio Apé recently advertised for sale on social media. Photo: Instagram/@buonape.tito

The Piaggio Apé has been a workhorse in Italy, carrying loads of more than 200kg despite its small engine and low speed. Photo: Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

A Piaggio Apé used for tours in Fiesole, Florence, Tuscany. Photo: Victoria Burrows

A Piaggio Apé three-wheeler on a showroom forecourt in the Philippines. The vehicles will be made in India from now on, for sale in Asia and Africa. Photo: Instagram/@piaggioape_ph 

Tourists experience life as a Japanese student, from cleaning classrooms to sports day

An abandoned school in Japan has been converted to offer edutainment for foreign tourists, who can live a day in the life of a Japanese student. Photo: Instagram/@yourhighschool_kimitsu 

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The project began in November 2023. More than 100 people have since taken part. Photo: Instagram/@yourhighschool_kimitsu 

The participants at Your High School were also taught Japanese phrases and greetings throughout the experience. Photo: Instagram/@yourhighschool_kimitsu 

At the day’s end, the students took turns to clean up. Photo: Instagram/@yourhighschool_kimitsu 

A still from The Making of a Japanese. Many schools in Japan have been closing thanks to depopulation and a low birth rate. Photo: Cineric Creative/Pystymetsä/Point du Jour 2023

Undokaiya now offers the Japanese school experience around three to four times a month in English. Photo: Instagram/@yourhighschool_kimitsu 

European airline to take mantle of longest Boeing 747 passenger flight from Asian carrier

The final Boeing 747 lands at Paine Field following a test flight on January 10 in Everett, Washington. Photo: AP

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Pan Am was the first airline to use the Boeing 747 for passenger flights. Photo: Universal Images Group via Getty Images

A Qantas Boeing 747 on approach to Hong Kong’s Kai Tak airport before the city’s old airport closed in 1998. The Australian airline phased out its jumbo jet fleet during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

HK Express celebrates the arrival of its first Airbus A321neo in March 2023. The long-haul, narrow-body airliner allows carriers to target smaller markets profitably. Photo: SCMP

Air China is one of only four airlines still using the Boeing 747 for passenger flights. Photo: Reuters

Lufthansa will operate the longest Boeing 747 passenger flight in 2025, when Korean Air pulls the jet from its Seoul to Atlanta route. Photo: Michael Penner

9 quirky New York museums covering everything from maths to soda and Jewish comfort food

Guide Stephen Flicker speaks during a tour of an apartment inside the Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side in New York. Photo: AP 

Mmuseumm 1is one of the smallest museums in New York, and located in a lift shaft. It is an example of the quirky museums the city boasts that may not be on every visitor’s radar. Photo: AP

Part of the Africa’s Fashion Diaspora exhibition at The Museum at FIT. Photo: AP

Works of Austrian and German art and design at the Neue Galerie, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York. Photo: AP

The Jewish Museum, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Photo: Shutterstock

The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in Manhattan. Photo: Shutterstock

The “Infinity of Nations” exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in New York. Photo: Shutterstock

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Lifestyle

Travel & Leisure

Motoring

Piaggio Apé 3-wheeler is slow but carries a big load. A feature of Italian life for 75 years, it will now be built in India


Piaggio Apé 3-wheeler is slow but carries a big load. A feature of Italian life for 75 years, it will now be built in India.


History

Italy

India