ITALY has had one solution for high fuel prices for almost 60 years. Now, with the Costa Rican government hunting for a way to reduce the country’s reliance on increasingly expensive fuel, that solution – affordable, lightweight and gas efficient Light Transportation Vehicles (LTV) – has finally arrived in Costa Rica.
The Piaggio Group, an Italian company that manufactures LTVs, developed the only model available in Costa Rica, the Ape, in 1948. The Ape, which is 9.5 feet long, 5 feet wide and 5.6 feet tall, is a small, three-wheeled, street-legal commercial vehicle that can haul up to 1,323 pounds and travel up to 80 miles on only one gallon of diesel.
“It is based mechanically on a motorcycle, so it has the operation cost of a motorcycle, but the utility of a small truck,” explained Jaime Freer, general manager of the exclusive Piaggio distributor in Costa Rica, Automotores Livianos de Centroamérica.
Apes are specifically designed for countries with economic difficulties and are credited with greatly aiding the regeneration of commercial activities in postwar Italy. They have been successful in many parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America, while selling in disappointing numbers in the United States.
“WE have only been open two months (in Costa Rica), but unlike other units on the market, this is a product that has more than 50 years of experience and has been hugely successful,” Freer said. “Timing couldn’t be better, because of the gasoline crisis.”
Apes and other LTVs, such as the Vespa and four-wheeled Quargo, will become much more widely available in Costa Rica within the next decade, according to Freer. Not only are these vehicles inexpensive, starting at $5,000, but their fuel efficiency also gives them “the lowest cost of operation of any vehicle in the country,” Freer said.
While Apes have many of the features of a car, they do not share all its characteristics and accordingly come with restrictions, such as a maximum speed of 31 miles per hour and a suggested radius of operation of 10 km.
According to Freer, Apes’ restrictions make them ideal for use in the downtown area of any city or coastal community. He says that Apes, which can hold one to five passengers depending on the model, will be useful in Costa Rica for distribution companies, small businesses and personal use.
“The Apes with passenger seating will also be very useful in the area of tourism,” said Olman Murrillo, a salesman at Automotores Livianos de Centroamérica. WITH 34 different bodies to choose from, anything from a fruit stand to a small auto-repair shop could be operated out of the vehicle’s bed.
“It is a highly sophisticated and versatile tool. It is the Swiss army knife of LTVs,” Freer told the Tico Times. Automotores Livianos, in La Uruca, northwest of San José, is the only Piaggio distributor where LTV Apes are available. However, plans are in place to open stores in Liberia, the capital of the northwestern province of Guanacaste; Jacó, on the Central Pacific coast; San Isidro, near the Pacific port of Puntarenas; and San Carlos, in north-central Costa Rica, next year.
The company’s long-term plans include expansion to Panama and Nicaragua.
