The first Ape of 1948 retained all the fundamental aspects of
the 
Vespa Scooter,
but within a three-wheeler structure; along with the front and
the 125cc engine which Piaggio began equipping its scooter with
the same year in place of the original 98cc. Cost 170,000 Italian
Lire. The genial aeronautical designer D’Ascanio, inventor of
both the Vespa and the Ape, explained that, “Our task was
to fill the gap in post-war utility vehicles which meant putting
onto the market a small-engined motorcycle van with low consumption,
low initial and maintenance costs, easy to drive, manoeuvrable
in the most intense urban traffic, and above all ready and able
to deliver to the home what had been bought at the shop.”
It is not necessary to have a driving licence to drive an Ape.
Anybody can drive it. And in the post-war cities where qualified
labour was scarce, the Ape helped home-delivery services to get
going again. The first to benefit directly from this phase were
the small and medium-sized shopkeepers and the three-wheeler motorcycle
van was marketed primarily to them. “The Ape helps accelerate
the rhythm of commerce and sales. It develops a shop’s traffic,
so to speak, and creates a highly prized link with the customer.
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In the light transport field, the Ape 50 was born to repeat the
success the Vespa 50 was enjoying in the two-wheeler field, a
recurring strategy in Piaggio history, and was launched in 1964
following a new norm in the Italian Highway Code which required
vehicles over 50cc to carry a number plate.