Even the mighty fall
When things are good and going your way, sometimes complacency can set in. If it does, then the trend can be irreversible
I’m pretty sure many people have seen the images of Lambrettas taken outside the old Innocenti factory in Milan. Now empty and slowly decaying, the site is used by those paying homage to its history, and as the ideal photo opportunity. Those pictures paint a sad story of a great empire that once was. The huge buildings once housed a thriving production line for Lambretta scooters, but those days are long gone. The question remains as to how and why it was allowed to happen?
Innocenti had been around for a long time before the company even considered producing scooters. The company had been involved in heavy machinery and scaffold production, and only became interested in the idea of scooters after the Second World War.
It was a plea from the Italian Government for an economical transport solution, which prompted the idea of scooter production. Though many other companies followed suit, it was Innocenti and Piaggio that led the way with their unique designs.
At their peak, Innocenti was producing thousands of machines every week, with the overall total running into the millions. Perhaps that was where it went wrong, because it became all too easily.
Though new models were introduced, many were only different cosmetically. There might have been some improvements on the mechanical side, but let’s face it, the GP was well out of date in the technology stakes by the time it was introduced. It could be argued that the philosophy of, ‘It isn’t broke so don’t try to fix it’ was implemented. In the cut-throat world of the automotive industry, that way of thinking will never get you very far.
Innocenti certainly looked to developing the Lambretta, which is clear to see now with the prototype twin models that were discovered years later. Project 137, as it was named, was part of a group of developments intended to make the Lambretta superior to its rivals. The problem was, if you look at it closely, no real new technology even existed with these developments. It almost seemed as if Innocenti wanted to do everything on the cheap, when it came to the future of Lambretta. By the time things did start to become bad financially for the company, it was too late. If Innocenti couldn’t bring themselves to invest heavily in the future of the Lambretta before, they certainly weren’t going to do it now.
By now, the Japanese revolution throughout the two-wheeled industry was beginning to make sweeping changes, and who could stop them? The large British motorcycle manufacturers had suffered the same problems as Innocenti through not updating models. They were simply happy to take the profits whilst failing to invest, so their fates were already sealed.
Though the Lambretta was part of the reason for the demise of Innocenti, blame also lay elsewhere. There were two other divisions at the huge factory, one which produced cars under licence from BMC, and the other responsible for heavy engineering. Between all three subsidiaries, they employed more than 4,000 workers. This was a huge number, and particularly so, should there be an economic downturn.
There is no doubt that the industrial troubles that plagued the whole of northern Italy in 1968 and 1969, played a major part in the decline of Innocenti. The strikes that spread during the ‘Hot Autumn’ initially had nothing to do with Lambretta production, but even so, in the end the workforce downed tools in support. The damage done to sales during the nine-month lockout was almost incalculable, and was even more profoundly felt when it became apparent in the UK that the new GP model was doing so well. The shortage of machines ruined any chance the Lambretta had in turning sales around.
With the company requiring an urgent cash injection, the vultures were circling and it wasn't long before the inevitable takeover happened. This was carried out by British Leyland in 1971, and we all know how that ended. Thinking that the future lay elsewhere, Lambretta production ceased. Although this could've been seen as the right decision at the time, it has since proven otherwise. Who could blame British Leyland, though they did see an aging product which needed millions in investment at a time when two-wheel sales were at an all-time low? Perhaps if Innocenti had developed the Lambretta when they had the chance, things may have been different.
Unfortunately, the ideas of British Leyland didn’t fare much better, and by 1976 they had bankrupted the factory. The farcical takeover which, in the end, was won by De Tomaso, saw production carry on at the factory until the early 1990s, when it finally shut.
Any chance of a revival of Lambretta was long gone, and perhaps history tells us that it’s best kept that way, proving to be an everlasting legacy.
One must wonder what it was like during the glory days to see inside the factory, with its huge production line churning out Lambretta after Lambretta. Today, all that's left to remind us is a crumbling shell of a building, full of weeds; a stark reminder that a once great empire, which wasn’t looked after like it should have been, was left to crumble.