Cycle News

VOL. 52 ISSUE 18 MAY 5, 2015 P61 will always find Scrambler Ducati, and I will tell you why. Twenty years ago you had a Ducati product range that was kind of a mix. It was mainly air- cooled, with some watercooled models. Some of them were sophisticated, like the liquid cooled high performance fuel injected 851, and some of them were quite simple machines, like the carbureted 900SS. But if you go even 10 years further back, the company had much simpler models in the 1980s compared to the Japanese, whereas today we can reasonably claim to have the most sophisticated products in the marketplace. So we've gone to the other extreme, and with such sophisti- cated products, we offer a unique riding experience. Whereas 30 years ago we had a very good handling bike that couldn't com- pete with the Japanese in a straight line, because of a lack of horsepower. Now look at our cur- rent product line—the Multistrada has 160 bhp and can compete with any other dual sports bike, the 1299 Panigale can compete face to face with any four-cylinder machine in the market. So for some customers this is very good, because Ducati is a sporty, sophisticated, very high- tech brand with a unique engine design. But for some customers it is a bit too much. There is a very clear indication that there are customers out there for Ducati products who want just a nice looking, easy going, relaxing motorcycle, but with the Ducati heritage. With the sense of enter- ing a club which allows them to be part of Ducati's performance, sophistication and design, but on their terms. The Scrambler is about self- expression, about being easy-go- ing with total freedom, so it's very relaxing. You enter the Scrambler world, and you're not obliged to be fast. You're not obliged to be a sporting motorcyclist, you just ride the bike the way you want to. So you're selling a lifestyle? Yes. If you take the Scrambler and compare it with other what I'll call heritage bikes, you immedi- ately understand ours is not a ret- ro product, because it's a mod- ern bike with modern features that handles very well, brakes good, performance is okay, yet follows the heritage of the previ- ous Scrambler. So there are still a lot of genes from the Ducati brand, but we removed the risk that people might be worried about riding a Ducati because it was too much motorcycle for them, that they don't feel experi- enced enough to control, or that has too much performance they don't need. So then once you actually experience it for yourself, you understand that the Scrambler Ducati is very light—lightness as you know is part of our philoso- phy—and easy to ride, so you can really enjoy yourself. When I ride the Scrambler I tell people that it's like being on holiday, because you don't have to worry about any- DUCATI BY THE NUMBERS In 2014 Monster family sales rose by 31 percent, with 16,409 new bikes sold after the introduction of the new Monster 1200 and Monster 821. And thanks to the acclaimed arrival of the 899 Panigale, Superbike sales enjoyed an overall growth of 12 percent, with a total of 9,788 bikes sold in 2014, 5,806 of them the 899 Panigale. The U.S. continues to be Ducati's top market, with 8,804 units deliv- ered to customers, more or less in line with 2013, with Mexico experi- encing 8 percent growth. Despite difficult market conditions, sales in South America increased consid- erably, especially in Brazil (up by 74 percent, with 1,174 bikes sold), thanks to the introduction of the full Ducati model range with local CKD (complete knock-down) production. In Europe sales slowed a little, dropping by 3 percent with 19,743 bikes sold, mostly due to challeng- ing conditions in Eurozone markets, with sales in Italy down a massive 14 percent on the previous year with just 4,284 bikes sold in what until two years ago was the company's largest single market. However, thanks to its recovering economy outside the Eurozone, the UK experienced significant double-digit growth, with Ducati sales up by 16 percent with 2,742 bikes sold. But the most massive spurt in sales was seen in Asia, where in 2014 Ducati set a new sales record with 5,787 units sold, an increase of 11 percent year on year. Performance was inevitably espe- cially strong in Thailand, up by 22 percent with 3,057 units sold, and in China, where sales volumes almost doubled, with a 97 percent increase. Ducati also succeeded in boosting sales in Australia, up 13 percent with 2,132 units sold, and slightly increased its performance in Japan by 1 percent with 2,558 sales.

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