INTERVIEW
DUCATI CEO CLAUDIO DOMENICALI
P58
Euroland, a key issue? Do you
think it's partly responsible
for this rise in export sales?
Not last year, because then
the Euro was still trading strongly.
This year will be a bit better from
that standpoint, but like many
big companies we have hedged
the situation by buying currency
forward in order to eliminate the
instability caused by fluctuations
in the exchange rate. That's part
of the strategy of the VW Audi
group, and it means we can
focus more on the development
of new products and new tech-
nology, rather than have to worry
about exchange rates.
Has there been much ex-
change of opinions and view-
points with your colleagues
at VW Audi? To what extent
do they influence the way in
which Ducati is now run?
We are now part of a big
industrial conglomerate, as
one of the twelve brands in the
Volkswagen group, and so they
bring influence to bear in many
aspects, for sure. Each depart-
ment within Ducati will have an
exchange of information and
cross-fertilization with the same
department in Audi, meaning
we can benefit from their ex-
perience in different areas. So
even though motorcycles are
very different from cars, we can
have common polices in areas
like purchasing or finance, and
then exchange information and
learn from each other about
how to manage the brand, how
to handle the customer, which
products to develop, and so on.
Has there been much
technical exchange between
Ducati and Audi?
Some, yes, and I would say
it's growing. Of course, each
brand has its own agenda. And
so while there are some areas
like the new self-driving car sys-
tems they're developing which
are not so interesting for motor-
cycles, on the other hand there
are other technologies we can
benefit from, like for example
lighting, where already we've
had a strong positive exchange
between us. As you know, it
takes maybe three or four years
for something new to reach
production, but I would say that
we've already begun a very use-
ful exchange of information on
both on the engine side and on
lighting, especially.
An easy-going,
less intimidating
machine with
Ducati DNA—
The Scrambler.
