Volkswagen May Be Looking to Sell Ducati: Report

Vdub's financial situation isn't good. That could lead to selling things.

Photo by: Ducati

By: Jonathon Klein

Jun 29, at 2:44pm ET

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A recent report from The Financial Times indicates that Volkswagen's current financial situation is dire. So dire, in fact, that the report goes on to state that the German giant may be incentivized to sell off a number of its more profitable nameplates, including that of Ducati.

The news comes on the heels of the brand's sell-off of its marine engine brand, Everllence, for €10 billion, as well as CEO Oliver Blume stating he plans on cutting 100,000 of his combined 625,000 employees across the company. Yet, it's the relative success of the sale of Everllence, as well as its sale of Bugatti, not the mass layoffs intended, which could spur the possible sale of the brand from Borgo Panigale.

According to The Financial Times, "Following the success of the Everllence auction in stoking competition between bidders, advisers are hoping that recent pitches to VW to sell crown jewels such as its motorcycle brand Ducati — an idea it explored in 2017 — or to list supercar maker Lamborghini will gain traction."

Currently, Volkswagen AG holds Ducati, Lamborghini, and Porsche under its umbrella, along with a host of smaller, more pedestrian manufacturers. Those three, however, remain the most well-known and potentially lucrative brands within that realm. They're the ones that would likely see the highest bids from potential new owners, as is evidenced both by the Everllence deal, and Volkswagen's recent sale of Bugatti to Rimac and a consortium of investors.

Likewise, even smaller brands like Indian Motorcycle, which got picked up by the private equity firm Carolwood LP, and KTM, which was sold off to Bajaj AG, have shown that motorcycle brands are worthwhile investments and can bring a pretty penny to those involved in the sales. That's all to say, Ducati is bigger than each of those motorcycle brands by leaps and bounds, more well-known than Everllence, and is profitable. So any sale of the company would likely benefit Volkswagen considerably in rectifying its current financial situation.

But it may not be in the cards.

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As The Financial Times points out, "Some analysts said the likelihood of VW selling these brands was low and cautioned that offloading loss-making assets such as PowerCo [the brand's battery manufacturer]would be unlikely to be as lucrative as the Everllence sale." Yet, with the issues surrounding the company, Porsche's own losses, and the drumbeat from investors and financial analysts to divest in its other companies, the sale of Ducati could be just one of the measures VW utilizes to stabilize its business.

Who would buy them, however, is anyone's guess. So while Everllence sold for €10 billion, it isn't Ducati. It isn't in MotoGP. It doesn't have the pedigree or the history or the fanbase. They're a handful of orders of magnitude bigger. So €100 billion? €200 billion? It's anyone's guess, but if it comes to pass, it'll be an industry-shaking event.