Ducati bucks global sales trend

Ducati defied the global trend of shrinking sales results during the 12 months of 2017, the Italian manufacturer registering growth for the eighth consecutive year.

In a global market which saw the sales of motorcycles over 500cc slump by a significant 3.5 per cent, Ducati grew by almost one per cent as it sold 55,871 units through its 780 dealerships in more than 90 countries across the globe.

“In 2017 we laid the foundations for further, future development of the company,” Ducati’s CEO Claudio Domenicali said. “We launched seven new models on the market and furthermore, we presented the Panigale V4, the first Ducati factory bike to mount a four-cylinder engine.”

Announced during parent company Audi’s annual conference, Domenicali revealed the Panigale V4 was the single biggest investment, financial or otherwise, the Bologna firm has ever channelled into a single product.

“This strong performance confirms the soundness of the product development strategy undertaken in recent years,” he continued.

The 2017 result represents a not-insignificant 30 percent growth in worldwide sales during the last five years.

In the same period, Ducati Australia recorded a 2.2 per cent decline in sales compared to the same 12-month period in 2016.