[lesn]

German firm AUDI--just concluded the purchase of Italian motorcycle maker, Ducati .

 

[CharlieVT]

German firm AUDI--just concluded the purchase of Italian motorcycle maker, Ducati .

Holy moly, an Audi Ducati! :histerica

 

[K100Dennis]

So they (Audi - Auto Union) have taken ownership of Ducati from HD Curtis ? As I understood it, HD acquired Ducati about 4 years back, which was interesting at the time as in the '70's HD themselves were bailed out by Aermacchi, an Italian company. Remember some of those 2 stroke trail bikes that sported the Harley Davidson emblem ?
We may see a 5 cylinder all wheel drive HD in the furure.

 

[jzzmusician]

Wow! I'm thinking this is pretty cool. Remember how Audi kicked but in the LeMans series with their diesel engines?

 

[lesn]

Germany's Audi buys Italian motorcycle firm Ducati
Ducati makes about 40,000 bikes a year Volkswagen's Audi arm has bought Italian motorcycle firm Ducati for an undisclosed sum.

The 20-member supervisory board of Europe's largest carmaker agreed to add a 12th brand to its portfolio.

The purchase will be completed when approval from the necessary regulators is received.

Ducati has won 13 rider's Superbike World Championships since 1988, and the deal means Audi's rivalry with BMW will now include superbikes.

However, one expert has questioned the wisdom of the purchase.

"I can't think of a concrete reason for Audi to warrant a business case for buying Ducati," said Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center of Automotive, at the University of Applied Sciences in Bergisch-Gladbach.

"Ducati does not enhance Audi's business model in any way, it is just a trophy in the wall cabinet."

Ducati makes about 40,000 bikes a year across its range of cruiser, supermoto, adventure, naked, and superbikes

 

[Voyager]

Holy moly, an Audi Ducati! :histerica

Nope, a Ducaudi!

 

[palarimer]

I've seen more than one write up over the past year or two where Audi was the only real challenge to BMW's automotive position and had even stated it was their goal to unseat BMW's position in the market, perhaps they see adding a Motorcycle division as one more step in beating BMW

 

[palarimer]

...and had I only googled before I posted...

Audi Takes On BMW With North American Plant, Ducati Acquisition

Huh going to the link directly wants you to subscribe, but hitting from a google search page lets you read it...
Here it the google search first result...
https://www.google.com/search?channel=t2&q=Audi%20set%20sites%20on%20BMW#hl=en&client=aff-maxthon-newtab&channel=t2&sclient=psy-ab&q=Audi+takes+on+BMW+WSJ+North+america&oq=Audi+takes+on+BMW+WSJ+North+america&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_nf=1&gs_l=serp.12...0.0.4.18

 

[cws]

probably a better outcome for the brand than the the Indian group that was reportedly also interested in Ducati...

 

[keyhole]

So they (Audi - Auto Union) have taken ownership of Ducati from HD Curtis ? As I understood it, HD acquired Ducati about 4 years back, which was interesting at the time as in the '70's HD themselves were bailed out by Aermacchi, an Italian company. Remember some of those 2 stroke trail bikes that sported the Harley Davidson emblem ?
We may see a 5 cylinder all wheel drive HD in the furure.

I was not aware of HD and Ducati, they did own MV Agusta. When HD had cash flow issues it was sold back to the family that it was purchased from for about 20% of what was paid 4 years earlier.

 

[wa1200lt]

Nope, a Ducaudi!

Close! I believe they will be called AudiCats........

Loren