On September 3, the supervisory board of Germany's Volkswagen Group unanimously approved the "Future 2030" plan submitted by the board of management, launching the largest transformation program in the group's history.
Under the plan, the group's century-old Italian motorcycle brand Ducati has been classified as an asset to be divested and may be sold in whole or in part.
According to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, citing people familiar with the matter, Volkswagen Group has notified several investment banks that management intends to unlock the asset value of the motorcycle company.
In the first half of 2026, Ducati recorded revenue of €489 million (€558 million in the same period last year), operating profit of €29 million (€53 million in the same period last year), a margin of 6% (9.5% in the same period last year), and delivered 27,876 motorcycles (30,202 in the same period last year).
Ducati was founded in 1926 by engineer Antonio Cavalieri Ducati and his three sons Adriano, Bruno and Marcello Ducati, with headquarters in Borgo Panigale, Bologna, Italy. It began as a manufacturer of vacuum tubes and radio components.
In the 1950s, Ducati formally entered the motorcycle sector, and thereafter, leveraging its proprietary technology, it continued to deepen its focus on professional racing, remaining one of the world's leading racing manufacturers from the 1970s to the present.
Ducati's ownership subsequently changed hands several times. In 2012, Audi, a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group, acquired Ducati from Italian private equity fund Investindustrial for €860 million.
In 2017, Volkswagen Group considered selling Ducati to streamline operations and raise funds for strategic restructuring. American motorcycle giant Harley-Davidson expressed interest at the time, but Volkswagen Group ultimately abandoned the sale plan.
Reconsidering a sale of Ducati now is part of Volkswagen Group's efforts under the "Future 2030" plan to streamline the scale of its equity portfolio. Management has determined that of the more than 2,000 equity investments held by the group, 750 can be divested in whole or in part.
Among the assets to be divested, Volkswagen Group plans to pursue an IPO of Europcar, while Spanish automaker Seat is expected to exit the market in 2029.
The "Future 2030" plan also includes an unprecedented headcount reduction of 100,000, a cut in European production capacity to 500,000 units, and the closure of four plants employing a total of 40,000 people between 2031 and 2034.
｜Source: Corriere della Sera, La Conceria
｜Image: Ducati official Instagram
｜Editor: LuxeCO
