Audi, the completely owned subdivision of Volkswagen, has acquired the world famous racing bike manufacturer Ducati in a consideration of £708 million (€860 million, US$1130 million). Along with the company, Audi is also held responsible for the liabilities of Ducati, which are around £150 million (€180 million, US$240 million). This agreement will mainly pacify the personal objective of Volkswagen Group (VAG) chairman Ferdinand Piech than proving more lucrative for Audi.
Piech had tried even before to own Ducati, but it was then bought and pulled out from extinction by the Castiglioni brothers, who are the founders of Cagiva. Ducati has a production capacity of 40,000 units, which is quite small in the industry of two-wheelers. Since Audi has acquired control over Ducati, the auto maker will now also deliver a stiff competition to BMW in the two wheeler segment. However, the deal of Ducati will be surely lucrative for the company, since the Volkswagen group has a strong past record of improving iconic brands, like Lamborghini and Bentley.
On the other hand, it is also possible that both the manufacturers might be facilitated with the exchange of technology, since the buyers have started emphasising over the fuel economy of vehicles. It is speculated that Ducati will have benefit from the Audi’s advanced manufacturing process and technology. However, it is also possible that Ducati might share manufacturing techniques with Audi, as it holds expertise in desmodromic valve operation, which will provide Audi both – performance as well as economic advantages.
In addition, the connection of AMG and Ducati appears condemned as it is not clear that what measures will be taken for the marketing relationship of Ducati’s with AMG, which is the hand of Mercedes Benz car’s performance. It is unlikely to proceed for the medium or long term, since the existing contracts do not over or get settled. Considering the status of Volkswagen, the company has decent money for investment, and thus it will bet high on Ducati, whose future appears bright and secured because of the deal. Volkswagen is such a large brand because it has the capability to respect and understand the values of companies it owns.
