"Under the Audi wing (hence with Lamborghini and Bugatti) Ducati engineering will improve and quality will become simply brilliant all the time but the risk is it could become a little diluted by the ‘Group’ approach to engineering...."
The news swirled around the Geneva press days a few weeks ago that Audi would be the Volkswagen Group division to place a bid for Ducati, which is up for sale. Volkswagen Group has made no formal comment about the story, but senior officers have.
Why buy a motor bike manufacturer? Well the visionary leader and Chairman of Volkswagen Group Ferdinand Piech is a very big fan of Ducati, and is owns some Ducati bikes. Next, within the Audi group there is Bugatti and – more significantly – Lamborghini. Finally there is the BMW Motorrad division, which has made bikes for many decades with variable reputation but consistent commercial success – a division which upon the acquisition of Husqvarna bike division from the Electrolux group, celebrated the fresh thinking it brought to BMW. The Ducati Current investor Investindustrial has done much to re-build the company. Essentially Ducati customers want a slice of Italian style, at a high but not stratospheric price, along with devastating performance.
One senior Volkswagen Group person was quoted that Ducati would offer light weight engine technology to the Group. This is a flawed argument:...more