Audi agrees to sell Ducati

Sad to read this. Rumors are that Royal Endfield could be the buyer.
I'll not even think about what that will mean in terms of quality :-(

willow said:

Sad to read this. Rumors are that Royal Endfield could be the buyer.
I'll not even think about what that will mean in terms of quality :-(

Click to expand...

Royal Enfield has created some really sturdy bikes, i dont see a quality compromise there.

The Indians own Jaguar and Land Rover, it's hardly caused them any problems, in fact just the opposite

The rumors of a potential sale have been floating around for about a month now. I'm not sure if I trust a website called "hypebeast.com" claiming that the decision to sell is final when I have not seen it on dedicated motorcycling news sites like MCN, A&R or Motorcyclist Online.

psyopper said:

The rumors of a potential sale have been floating around for about a month now. I'm not sure if I trust a website called "hypebeast.com" claiming that the decision to sell is final when I have not seen it on dedicated motorcycling news sites like MCN, A&R or Motorcyclist Online.

Click to expand...

Ditto! Fake news?

No, there are lots of articles about it. The FORMER CEO of Audi liked Ducati's style and prowess and wanted to purchase it because of that. Other execs did not at the time but the CEO is the CEO...so they bought it. Then, Ducati grew and became more valuable. Audi now owes a grundle in fines from the air emissions scandal and with the CEO that wanted Ducati now gone....they have decided to sell to get the needed cash.

Who owns Ducati is unlikely to change it much, IMHO. I think they will just let Ducati run itself. Particularly while they are doing so well. But, as my brother was saying to me. Ducati is currently a sister company to Ferrari and Porsche. There is something to be said for that regarding the "Ferrari of Motorcycles". However, Ducati might now be the sister company to.....hmmm.......head-scratch.......can't think of anything Indian except curry and the god with an elephant head.

It is rumoured that Royal Enfield would be interested.

Bearing in mind the Indians own Jaguar and Land Rover which have gone from strength to strength under the TATA ownership.

I heard the RE rumor, and that's distinctly unbelievable. Ducati is way outside the scope of Royal Enfield's existence. I could see Tata buying them if it's the India connection you want to make. Otherwise, Piaggio seems the first most likely candidate.

I think this is just a load of old BS. If Audi were to sell to VW as has been suggested, then how does that work? Audi and VW are both part of VAG, they share engines, floor pans and more on their cars and are just about the same company with dith two badges.

Fredinfrance said:

I think this is just a load of old BS. If Audi were to sell to VW as has been suggested, then how does that work? Audi and VW are both part of VAG, they share engines, floor pans and more on their cars and are just about the same company with dith two badges.

Click to expand...

Audi cant sell VW as they both come under VAG where did you get that idea from? It's Audi's apparent desire to sell Ducati that's being considered.

https://hypebeast.com/2017/5/audi-sell-ducati-1-billion-usd

Steeve read my post "If Audi were to sell to VW" But I was wrong anyway the article never said the VW were buying. It seems that I can't read either!

I doubt even that would happen but the thought floating around of Tata buying over does seem highly likely. Tata seems to be in the high interest of expanding when they can and Ducati is a brand that can prove to be very beneficial for them.

Fredinfrance said:

Steeve read my post "If Audi were to sell to VW" But I was wrong anyway the article never said the VW were buying. It seems that I can't read either!

Click to expand...

Thanks for pointing that out, I'd missed the 'to' part.

I just hope Audi keep it, it brings in regular money and adds diversification. But they do have these huge fines and expensive recalls.

Tata would be an interesting owner. They have certainly have customer focus and the Jag F-Type is one of my favorite cars.

Do you think Ferrari would be a good owner? They are both red, (in general) both Italian, both have flair, both race and both have dedicated followers.

Ferrari would be better off buying Harley Davidson, as they started off making tractors, it would just go full circle.

Some of you guys seem to be confusing Ferrari with Lamborghini. VW/Audi owns Lamborghini, and has it in the same group as Ducati (along with Bentley, and Bugatti). VW/Audi does not own Ferrari, which was owned by Fiat, but is now semi-independent. Likewise, it is Lamborghini that started out making tractors. Ferrari started out running the race team for Alfa Romeo before WWII, and has always made racing cars and sports cars.


PhilB

It's obvious that the VAG group wish to sell Ducati so that would exclude passing it to any other divisions of VAG taking Ducati on, including Lamborghini. They apparently need the cash to help them with the mess they got them selves in.

I was just musing that Ferrari might be a good fit for Ducati. I was guessing that most people would be aware that Ferrari isn't a VAG company.