VW boss attempts to quell Ducati brand sale rumours
The boss of VW has tried to silence the rumour that the German automotive giant is looking at selling the iconic Italian motorcycle maker
RUMOURS that the VW Group was looking to sell Ducati have circled for almost as long as the Borgo Panigale outfit has been owned by them.
The whispers first came to light after the then newly appointed CEO, Herbert Diess spoke about the possible sale of some of the brands smaller, more niche business units. The rumours came and went and Ducati went from strength to strength. The most recent figures put Ducati sales at over 53,000.
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It seems too that Diess has changed his opinion of the smaller brands under the VW/Audi umbrella, as at the latest general meeting he went as far as praising Ducati and the other less mainstream companies.
His statement starts by acknowledging the elephant-shaped virus in the zoom meeting in the form of COVID-19. He went on to say it is actually some of the group’s luxury brands Bugatti, Lamborghini, Bentley and Ducati that are ‘weathering the crisis exceedingly well’. He went on to add that Ducati’s to state that Ducati might be in its best position ever, being ‘significantly’ up year on year.
Now, there are two ways to take this. The first is that Ducati actually isn’t up for sale, Diess is a happy bunny and all is well in the world of the global automotive superpower. The second is that actually, Ducati is up for sale, in the same way that pretty much anything is for the right price. And if that is the case, Diess is always going to say it’s doing the best its ever done. Isn’t he?!
Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
