Volkswagen Is Considering Selling Motorcycle Brand Ducati

Volkswagen is undergoing a major reorganization to reduce costs, and various activities of the group are being reviewed as part of this. According to Döllner, this involves approximately 600 of the group’s roughly 2,000 business units being scrutinized.

Ducati was acquired by Audi in 2012. Ducati, known for its racing motorcycles, was founded in Bologna in 1926 and sells approximately 50,000 motorcycles per year with a turnover of 925 million euros. The brand is said to have a value of about 1.25 billion euros. Volkswagen had previously considered selling Ducati in 2017 but abandoned the plan at the time due to internal resistance to a sale.

Ducati is successful in motorsport and has loyal enthusiasts, the so-called Ducatisti. The acquisition of the brand in 2012 came about at the insistence of the then Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen, Ferdinand Piëch, who was very fond of Italian design and motorcycles. The German group is also the owner of the Italian sports car brand Lamborghini.

Volkswagen plans to cut another 50,000 jobs and possibly close four German factories. On Monday, it was announced that the Volkswagen factory in Osnabrück is being sold and converted for the production of defense equipment for the Israeli company Rafael. As a result, many jobs can be saved at that location.

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