News about a declining relationship between the VW Group and Ducati has been circulating for years now. The motorcycle firm was acquired by the VW Group in 2012, however the two brands have since struggled to find synergy.
In 2015, following the ‘Dieselgate’ scandal, VW was reportedly considering selling Ducati, only for then Audi CEO Rupert Stadler to declare “Ducati is not for sale,” a year later. More turmoil followed last year as the group struggled to figure out whether or not they should part ways with the Italian company.
Now, according to Autonews Europe, current VW Group CEO Herbert Diess is looking into either merging Ducati with one of its rivals, or perhaps enter some sort of an alliance. The reason continues to be a lack of synergy with the group’s other businesses, as reported by German daily Handelsblatt.
“I can imagine a combination or a partnership with other brands. Ducati as a motorbike icon business within the Volkswagen Group is not sufficient,” stated Diess, who became the group’s CEO back in April.
As of now, VW has yet to find a long-term solution amid its internal power struggles.
Last year, VW wanted to sell Ducati as part of an asset review, which could have raised the group’s cash reserves by as much as 1.5 billion euros ($1.8 billion). While the sale failed to go through, it seems as though VW isn’t giving up on shaking things up as far as Ducati is concerned.
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