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Audi boss says Ducati is not for sale

Audi CEO Rupert Stadler debunks rumours suggesting that Ducati is for sale.

New mystery Ducati coming – new Streetfighter or upgraded 899 Panigale

It seems that the effects of the Volkswagen Group’s ‘Diesel-gate’ cheating scandal hasn’t gone fully gone away following recent report published by Bloomberg suggesting that the firm may put the Ducati brand up for sale.

The rumour is being fuelled largely by the fact that the Volkswagen Group reportedly has to put aside €18 billion to remedy its scandal. With such a bill to foot, it wouldn’t be surprising if the German powerhouse had to restructure itself and perhaps divest Ducati away as part of it.

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However, Audi AG’s CEO Rupert Stadler has been quick to deny this rumour entirely as reported by MCN. If you didn’t know already, parent company Volkswagen Group owns Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A through the four-ringed luxury cars marque that’s also under its reigns – along with other notable brands like Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini.

Reasons behind Stadler’s denial are rather plain to see. To put it simply, Ducati has held its own weight rightly at contributing to Volkswagen Group’s annual profits. In 2015, the storied Italian marque reportedly contributed €702 million in revenue with a €54 million profit figure.

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That, along with its efforts at tackling the research and development work towards homologating its line up for Euro 4 compliance only suggests that Ducati will get stronger in the coming years. In other words, Ducati is currently at its strongest form yet – a fitting form indeed for its upcoming 90th anniversary.

However, it is worth noting that Ducati’s efforts only account for 0.3% of Volkswagen Group’s overall revenue structure that’s reportedly valued at a whopping €213 billion. We would not rule out the possibility of VW re-thinking its priorities for the Italian motorcycle brand.

Still, it could’ve been worst. Case in point is the struggle that Volkswagen’s rivals at Daimler and its Mercedes-AMG sub-brand have with the financially unstable MV Agusta marque.

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For now, we reckon Volkswagen Group’s wouldn’t do anything to drastic so as long as Ducati continues to flourish and channel healthy sums to the group’s overall figures.

Sources: Bloomberg / Asphaltandrubber / MCN

Co-founder of Bikes Republic and a motoring journalist by night. He is a self described enthusiasts with a passion for speed but instead rides a Harley and a J300. A man of contradictions, he is just as passionate about time off in the quiets as he is about trail braking into turn one at Sepang Circuit on two or four wheels.

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