Thursday 19th April 2012

PH2: Audi buys Ducati

Sale rumours have been going around for a while; now Audi emerges as the new owner

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Audi has bought Italian motorcycle maker Ducati for a reported 860 million euros (£704m). The supervisory board of VW Group approved the purchased on Wednesday, according to an Audi statement.

It has been common news in recent months that Investindustrial Group, who owned Ducati, were looking at off-loading the company and Audi has stepped in to snap up the legendary brand.

The Ingolstadt car firm also said it was looking to complete the purchase as soon as possible, bringing the bike maker - which has own 13 superbike championships since 1988 - into the VW fold as the company's 12th brand.

One of the obvious reasons for Audi getting hold of Ducati is that it now has a bike brand to take on the bikes made by key rival BMW, but experts have questioned the logic of such a move, suggesting that the acquisition of Ducati is tantamount to a vanity purchase.

"I can't think of a concrete reason for Audi to warrant a business case for buying Ducati," Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center of Automotive at the University of Applied Sciences in Bergisch-Gladbach, told Reuters news agency. "Ducati doesn't enhance Audi's business model in any way, it's just a trophy in the wall cabinet."

Buying Ducati also comes with a price - the bike maker, which builds 40,000 vehicles a year, carries with it 200 million euros (£164m) of debt. Still, with pockets as deep as Audi's and the VW Group's, that's little more than loose change...

Audi obviously see the value of Ducati, too. "Ducati is known worldwide as a premium brand among motorcycle manufacturers and has a long tradition of building sporty motorcycles," said Audi Chairman Rupert Stadler. "It has great expertise in high-performance engines and lightweight construction, and is one of the world's most profitable motorcycle manufacturers. That makes Ducati an excellent fit for Audi."

Additional reporting by PH2's own Jon Urry

 

[Mr Noble]

Good thing? Bad thing? I don't know. But it'll certainly add stability and keep Ducati going strong for many years to come. Lets just hope they keep the current designers on - the Panigale is stunning!!

[ducnick]

A new range of special edition "Ducati" VW Golf's by next year, or VW switch gear and Passat wing mirrors on the next gen superbike? Either way its got to be a bad thing.
As far as I can tell there is only one "synergy", and that is a shared philosophy to make it understeer by nature.

Edited by ducnick on Thursday 19th April 10:48

[PaulMoor]

ducnick said:

A new range of special edition "Ducati" VW Golf's by next year, or VW switch gear and Passat wing mirrors on the next gen superbike? Either way its got to be a bad thing.

They can't be any worse than the indicator mirrors they have at the moment.

Personaly I think it can't be anything but a good thing. It's not like Lamborghini have suffered , except in the mind of those few who think they should have kepped making anachronistic impossible to drive hypercars.

Hopefully they will build a viable BMW alternative, and also make BMW up there game a little. However I can't see what Audi have to gain from this, its not like anyone ever had the choice between an A4 and a 320tdi and said "I'll buy the 320 because I hear the K1300 is a realy good bike"

[Craiglamuffin]

Will this count toward their average emissions figure? Sort of like an Aston Martin Cygnet approach to getting the average down?

[uncle tez]

Does this mean that all ducatis from now on will all look the same ?

[WhiffofCastrol R]

A good thing i reckon, better to see Ducati grow and flourish rather than go to the wall.

[FWDRacer]

Platform Engineering? Economies of scale? Some might say soulless engineering and attention to all the important stuff... like shutlines.

All sits very comfortably with Ducati brand heritage.

They've nearly managed to castrate/anaesthetise Lamborghini FFS. I fear the same for Ducati.

[appletonn]

ducnick said:

A new range of special edition "Ducati" VW Golf's by next year, or VW switch gear and Passat wing mirrors on the next gen superbike? Either way its got to be a bad thing.

Hmm, didn't people think the same thing when Audi bought Lamborghini? Instead we have had increasingly bonkers Lambos in the traditional mould, but with improved build quality and reliability over the pre-Audi models?

As long as they allow Ducati to be Ducati but support them with improved components and quality, I think they will be a good custodian

Edited by appletonn on Thursday 19th April 09:41

Edited by appletonn on Thursday 19th April 09:41

[sprinter1050]

The BB massive already covered this story adequately ahead of PH2

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...

[PhilboSE]

The old owners of Ducati must be patting themselves on the back.

E200M debt and the company is worth E860M? Can't see it. As the article says, it's hard to see a justifiable business reason behind the purchase - they'll never get their money back.

[MogulBoy]

The 2013 Ducati's will look a bit like this once Audi's headlight designer has been let loose on them...



... and quattro gmbh is already working on a sidecar with two driven wheels!

[GranCab]

So .. can we look forward to a range of Ducatis with the engine hanging out beyond the front axle?

[srob]

MogulBoy said:

... and quattro gmbh is already working on a sidecar with two driven wheels!

BMW beat them to it by 70 years

I think Audi's takeover will be a good thing for Ducati in the long run. It'll bring stability and buying power, and if they follow the same path as they have with Lambo, I can't see it meaning an end to the nuts bikes. Quite the opposite in fact.

[R39S1]

FWDRacer said:

Platform Engineering? Economies of scale? Some might say soulless engineering and attention to all the important stuff... like shutlines.

All sits very comfortably with Ducati brand heritage.

They've nearly managed to castrate/anaesthetise Lamborghini FFS. I fear the same for Ducati.

Well If the Aventador is Castrated, God help us if they ever find its bks!

[srob]

R39S1 said:

Well If the Aventador is Castrated, God help us if they ever find its bks!

[Riggers]

sprinter1050 said:

The BB massive already covered this story adequately ahead of PH2

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...

Indeed, but now non-BBers can see it in all its glory on the homepage

(Though you're right - there was probably an argument to point the article in the direction of the original thread...)

[Twincam16]

The financial stability aspect is positive, but I do worry - what on earth does Audi know about bikes? BMW have always made bikes. Audi specialise in four-wheel-drive systems and narcolepsy-inducing branding operations. It doesn't sit well with Ducati's values regardless of how much money they've got.

Also, under VW Lamborghini has gone from a typically Italian 'revolutionary' company to a typically German 'evolutionary' one. Nothing from them surprises me any more. I fear the same will happen with Ducati - Audi do nothing but play it safe.

[Dave Dax builder]

If you listen carefully.......It sound's just like a Golf.
It'll be interesting to see how Audi's boffins turn a 2 wheel vehicle into 4WD.

[RenesisEvo]

Article said:

...carries with it 200 million euros (£164m) of debt...

Then:

Article said:

...is one of the world's most profitable motorcycle manufacturers.

That seems a bit of a non-sequitur to me.

[Riggers]

RenesisEvo said:

Article said:

...carries with it 200 million euros (£164m) of debt...

Then:

Article said:

...is one of the world's most profitable motorcycle manufacturers.

That seems a bit of a non-sequitur to me.

Not necessarily. As long as your revenue can service your debts and still give you a decent return then there's no problem. It's when the your revenue is less than the cost of keeping up repayments that you start finding yourself in problem.

So it might be making decent money now, but if that revenue stream ever falters...