INTERVIEW
MV AGUSTA PRESIDENT AND CEO GIOVANNI CASTIGLIONI: PART 2
P110
Yes, but we'll only have two.
One is a special edition of an
existing model, the other com-
pletely new—one three-cylinder,
one on our four-cylinder plat-
form. But that's all.
So what will the ceiling be
for annual MV production
from now on under that new
strategy?
About 8000 high-margin
bikes. At the end of the day
we re-analyzed the company
and what we did in the past will
change. There's a big difference
between us and our competi-
tors. First of all, size; second of
all, financial resources. If you are
a 100 billion Euro conglomerate
and then you invest 200 million
in a company like Audi does in
Ducati, it's a completely differ-
ent level to if you are a private
company competing in the same
market sector. We have been
called many times the Ferrari
of motorcycles, so I think we
should focus on that. Everybody
else is moving to 300cc, 400cc,
super entry-level models, even
BMW, but this will be death for
a company like MV, though it's
what the management guys I just
got rid of wanted to do. At the
other end of the scale, nobody
is focusing any more on the
super-premium sector. I'm not
saying MV should only do 40-
50,000 Euro bike, just maybe
a few, but if you make a 675
Supersport it must be the top in
its class, and so on. Focus less
on volume, more on product, on
margin, and on what our clients
want—to own the best in class.
Any special bike that we make is
sold out before it hits the streets,
meaning I'm already cashed in,
so for us that's really important.
Okay, so where does MV
Agusta stand right now?
When I understood that there
was nothing to be done, and I
Modest trophies and artifacts
adorn the Castiglioni office walls.
