Would be interesting to see what KTM would do with Ducati. https://jalopnik.com/ktm-might-buy-ducati-and-that-might-be-good-1831129648/amp
Well.... I would prefer Polaris buy them I would not like to see Ducati potentially sharing engines unless something Ducati has no production capacity for such as a small displacement single. Also would not want design to be done by kiska at all.
I do not want any Ducati bits made in India-period. Then again lying/cheating VW will probably not contribute to the brands growth with the ongoing engine fines saga.
I think the interesting part is that Ducati can't leave Italy or there are no Ducati fans. KTM really has nothing in this arena except a failure in sportbikes. This isn't an easy takeover of an already bastardized brand like Husky. It really is purely the Italian design and heritage that makes the brand so I'm curious how they'll play it if it happens. VW did surprisingly well with Ducati, not sure what KTM will bring
Ducati is a strong brand, so can pretty much survive any situation, and is a ready source of cash when sold... Do you remember who owned them 20 plus years ago? Scramblers are built in Thailand, so the off shore thing has already started, and who knows how much Chinese/Indian content Italian built bikes already have? I imagine VW being a car company, pretty much left Ducati alone to do their thing. I'd guess TPG had smoothed out the management in their tenure. I can't imagine the essentially German KTM motorcycle company owning Ducati, as the cultural differences are too much. Think of how BMW ran Husqvarna in the end.... as a sort of colony, with the Italians being low class natives. VW should probably just sell it to the Chinese, as it stands a better chance of staying a unique brand.... think Volvo.
Seems I saw a Ductai electric prototype in my wandering around on the internet. VW/Audi is quite involved with battery vehicles and would be a shame to see the electric motorcycle possibilities with their research and development resources cease. We have Pirerer's investment group, Ktm, and Bajaj. Might not be as simple as Ktm buys Ducati. Is the Husqvarna motorcycle division totally owned by KTM now? Does KTM/Pierrer/Bijaj still pay "tribute" to use the Husqvarna name?
SP still owns Husqvarna. It's not "tribute", it's called "licensing"... Husqvarna AB will always control the trademark for the motorcycles, just as they have for the last 32 years. If the name didn't offer value for money, they would have just kept selling Husabergs.
This wasn't meant to put down KTM or anything to do with the husky scenario. More that in this realm they failed before. Also, a big part of ducatis is their Italian design and assembly (knowing parts are sourced everywhere.) Just curious how they play this one. Are they buying the name or will they continue to let Ducati be Ducati with KTM influence? Duc's new 4 cylinder had to have been a huge investment and not something KTM uses either. Interested to see if this actually affects KTM's model range in this case.
