“Ducati will not make a small motorcycle.” These were the emphatic words of Ducati Chief Executive Officer Claudio Domneicali, speaking to Asian press during the recent 2024 World Ducati Week in Misano, Italy.
“Ducati is a brand to be aspired to, there is a certain prestige that is attached to the brand,” said Domenicali, emphasising that Ducati is, in modern times, a premium brand. This was in response to a question asked as to whether Ducati intends to participate in the smaller displacement motorcycle market.
A trend has been seen of late with brands like Triumph and Harley producing products in the 400 cc segment, while both Aprilia and Triumph have 660 cc products in their lineup. In recent times, Ducati previously issued the Scrambler Sixty2, a 400 cc variant of the 800 cc Scrambler.
Produced in response to market motorcycle licence requirements in the Japan and Australia markets, the Sixty2 was less than a stellar sales success due in part to its price. “It is a smaller engine, yes, but it is not a cheaper motorcycle,” said Marco Biondi, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Ducati Asia Pacific.
“We make Ducatis to a specific performance standard, we do not compromise. So, even though the engine is smaller, the same quality of engineering goes into the engine and we cannot make that cheaper,” said Biondi.
Mohan K Ramanujam
Coming with diverse and extensive experience in heavy engineering, Mohan enjoys making anything with wheels go fast, especially motorcycles. His weapon of choice is the Desmoquattro engine, and he has a penchant for anything with a dash of Italian design. Strangely enough, he insists he’s a slow rider.
Source: paultan.org