Say it isn't so....

C

Callan D

New member
A Ducati-Piaggio merger is doing the rounds on the rumour circuit:

http://www.bikepoint.com.au/news/2010/piaggio-and-ducati-to-merge-18653

As a former Guzzi owner who has seen that historic brand wrecked by the Piaggio Group accountants, this does not bode well for Ducati if it's true...

jdw
 
If the Guzzi experience is anything to go by (I borrowed this from another forum - Guzzi - but the explanantion is valid for all Piaggio's brands. It was written soon after the Piaggio takeover of Aprilia / Guzzi, when the loss of all Guzzi's sports models became apparent):



jdw
 
My only concern is why they want Ducati.

Are they buying the brand or are they buying a motorcycle company. If they are buying the brand then you can kiss it goodbye.
 
Actually this is a more recent comment (from a bike-based weblog):



'Disposable' scooters and bikes are legendary under Piaggio's umbrella.

The biggest concern I have, "if" this is more than simply a rumour, is Piaggio's historic hardline attitude to owning competing brands. Just when Guzzi were about to launch some serious SBK contenders, Piaggio bought Aprilia and Guzzi in one fell swoop, and the rest remains "what could have been": Aprilia is now in the SBK business, Guzzi have been relegated to cruisers and tourers.

This isn't good for buyers.

jdw
 
In my experience at a dealer, anything dealing with the Piaggio group is incredibly difficult. Their dealer support is awful, their service is awful, getting parts is next to impossible. When I worked there, the owner was pushing to get rid of all of the Piaggio products because the company is so hard to deal with.

I really hope this is a rumor. I don't know why Ducati would want to sell anyways. Their market share, at least in the US, has been growing and growing.
 
Both BMW and Ducati put a positive spin on their >20% decline in sales last year by trumpeting an increased Market share. I think it remains to be seen whether that increase in market share is retained once unemployment significantly decreases and consumer confidence increases.

Oh, and I also hope this is an unfounded rumor; I just can't see many upsides to Ducati becoming a subsidiary corporation of a company that has a demonstrated history of eliminating existing R&D departments and consolidating them, thereby physically separating design and manufacturing. Ducati is Ducati in great part because of its relatively small size. I would hate to see it become a mere brand in a motorcycle manufacturing conglomerate and reduced to essentially filling a predetermined marketing niche, much like Buick or Chevrolet does for GM.
 
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