The future for Ducati is secure as it will remain within the VW Group, at least for the next nine years.
A board meeting on Wednesday June 22 2016 which outlined their plan until 2025 told shareholders there was no intention to put the company up for sale to pay off massive debts from the diesel gate affair.
This is good news for Ducati owners as it ensures investment in new models and support for parts and services well into the future.
It’s timely news for Ducati which is in an expansionist phase with nine new models this year.
It looked a little grim for Ducati for a while.
The VW Group faces billions of dollars to settle technical issues and legal claims against the company for falsely claiming low emissions from its diesel vehicles.
There had been talk that the company could sell off several of its subsidiaries including Ducati which would be expected to fetch about 1.5 billion Euro.
However,VW Group CEO Mathis Muller told the shareholder meeting in Hannover on Wednesday June 22 2016 of their “Together Strategy 2025” plan which mentioned nothing of selling off Ducati.
The direct owners of Ducati are Audi and their CEO, Rupert Stadler, said last week that Ducati would not be for sale.
He reiterated his comments at the end of the Wednesday meeting.
Instead, it appears the company may be considering selling its MAN Trucks division.
Ducati Hyperstradas and Hypermotard unveiledMeanwhile, there is no word on the fate of fellow Italian manufacturer MV Agusta which wants to buy out of its Mercedes-AMG ownership to solve its liquidity crisis.
They have been in talks with a number of financial and automotive companies about their future, including Polaris Industries which owns Indian Motorcycle and Victory Motorcycles.