Ducati’s MotoGP future unlikely to be impacted by the company’s sale rumours
Volkswagen has responded to reports suggesting it could look to sell Ducati
Ducati’s place as one of the leading manufacturers in MotoGP is unlikely to change anytime soon, however, recent reports suggest the company could be sold in the future by Volkswagen.
The German automotive manufacturer has since responded to the rumours, and while Ducati is never actually mentioned, Volkswagen did not rule out the sale either.
Rather than dismissing the speculation surrounding Ducati, Volkswagen shifted the conversation onto wider challenges that the entire Group is facing.
This was revealed by a spokesperson for Volkswagen, as part of a statement to US publication RideApart.
The statement alluded to Volkswagen's current business model of building in Europe and shipping worldwide, which "no longer works across all brands", says the spokesperson.
In terms of any sale of Ducati, the Italian marque is considered one of the most influential brands in the two-wheel industry, not just because of the racing success it has enjoyed, although that won’t have hurt either.
Ducati’s advancements when it came to inventing new aero packages in recent years, coupled with winning every MotoGP title since 2022, has made it a destination that the very best riders want to go to, which certainly helps show the company’s worth on a global scale.
This means that any potential sale, which is a huge if, would likely result in a lot of interested takers.
The full statement from a Volkswagen AG spokesperson, which was published on the RideApart website, can be found below:
"Please understand that we do not comment on internal, confidential documents. The underlying matters will be discussed and approved in the respective committees. We will not pre-empt this process.
"It is correct that the entire automotive industry and the Volkswagen Group are undergoing a profound transformation. The Executive Board has repeatedly stated that our current business model no longer works across all brands: developing cars in Germany, producing them in Europe and exporting them to the world.
"The world has fundamentally changed in recent years. Over the past twelve months, developments have intensified. New tariffs, harder competition and stagnating – in some cases declining – markets are currently placing burdens on the company reaching tens of billions of euros per year. To remain successful under these conditions, we have to evolve. The entire Group has to become significantly more competitive. That requires a sharper focus as well as stricter discipline over costs and investment. Only in this way can we defend and consolidate our position as one of the world’s leading automotive manufacturers and continue to finance our future by our own means.
"The entire Group – including brands and subsidiaries – have to transform profoundly. To that end, the Executive Board has worked intensively over recent months on a future plan for the realignment of the company. The goal is to make the entire company more efficient and leaner and to capture technological synergy potential consistently. In particular, this applies to decision-making processes and structures – especially in the development and integration of new technologies as well as in the model portfolio for our customers.
"In the next step, this comprehensive transformation is to be implemented following the Supervisory Board’s engagement."
For the time being, Ducati will remain part of Volkswagen’s business plans, but should that change, we will of course keep you up to date.
