Interview: Ducati Australia boss Sergi Canovas

Ducati has arrived in Australia as a fully-owned subsidiary, after a successful 55-year partnership with NF Imports.

The historic Italian manufacturer has taken the reigns with plans to grow the iconic brand even further in Australia and New Zealand.

With Ducati's arrival in Australia comes a new team, including new Managing Director, Sergi Canovas. Canovas arrives in Australia after three years as the Managing Director for Ducati in India. He also has nearly 13 years experience working for the Piaggio Group in Spain and Vietnam.

We sat down with Canovas to ask him about his plans for Ducati in Australia and New Zealand, and the current state of the motorcycle industry.

Thanks for talking to us Sergi. Can you tell us where your passion for motorcycling comes from?

My relationship with motorbikes started when I was a kid, with my father, who had a Bultaco Sherpa. We were doing trials near where we lived. The first motorbike he bought for me was a very small Ducati called a Mini Marcelino that used to have a 25cc engine. I learned to ride when I was around ten years old and I’ve always been passionate about racing, especially 500cc. My number one rider was Kevin Schwantz. I used to go to school with pictures of MotoGP in my folders and I still remember that beautiful Suzuki 500 with the Pepsi livery.

How are you finding it in Australia so far?

I am very grateful and lucky to be here for two things. First of all, Australia is a fantastic country and I’ve never been here before, so it is my first time. Also, from a Ducati perspective, Australia is a very special market. It is a country that provides all our best memories in racing with Australian riders. I know a lot of people in Borgo Panigale are jealous that I’m here. It is a golden opportunity for me to be here in this special market for us. And now with Jack Miller joining the factory team, it is like a blessing. In the past, every time we have a talented Australian rider, we achieve good results. I think it will be the same with Jack.

Related Reading:
Jack Miller signs with Ducati for 2021
Ducati Australia partners with DesmoSport superbike team
Ducati to go it alone in Australia 

Ducati has entered the Australian market as a fully-owned subsidiary. What does this mean for the brand in Australia? What changes can we expect to see?

We’ve been working with our importer (NF Imports) for the last 50 years with a very good result. The positioning of Ducati in Australia and New Zealand is one of the best in the world. But of course, taking control of the market directly, the best benefit is that we are closer to the customers, so we shorten the communication channels. That is going to have a huge impact on the customer side. We are here. We are closer to them. We can understand the needs and problems of Australia and New Zealand, and we can act much quicker than in the past. That is the first benefit we are going to have. The second benefit is that we are the brand, so we have direct and faster contact with the factory.

Is this move a response to the market in Australia? Or has it been a long-term goal of Ducati to establish a permanent presence in Australia?

Normally we don’t work on a short term basis – we work with plans of five years. So based on the plans we have for the next five years, Australia and New Zealand are important for us, so we need to get ready for that. We need to look more to the future to get ready to take the opportunities that we’ll have in the coming years

Where do you see the motorcycle market in Australia currently? Where do you think it can improve?

Customers in Australian and New Zealand are much evolved and they have been there ages. There is not much fluctuation in the long term. There can be disruptions in the short term, like coronavirus for example. But normally the customer base is big, and therefore there isn’t much fluctuation. For us, it’s a very important market because Australia and New Zealand customers are very knowledgeable about what they want. They really appreciate when we launch limited edition models, when we launch Superleggera’s – this is the market where we normally get more orders for the size of the market. So for us it’s important, because while certain segments of the market could go down, the premium market continues to be very strong and we see a big opportunity to get even more market share.

What plans do you have for the brand in Australia? And what are your goals?

One thing we want to do for sure is to give more reasons for our Ducatisti to enjoy the bikes. It means we want to engage with them more once the bikes are sold through activities and experiences. We have a lot of facilities or properties around the world that we use for what we call DRE (Ducati Ride Experience). Under that umbrella, we provide a lot of experiential activities such as tours, the Racetrack Academy and the Enduro Academy. We want to make sure we deploy all our experiential activities in Australia and New Zealand. Of course, the other thing is to understand the needs of the customers and work a lot on improving customer satisfaction through training, through the network and making sure we can provide the best service to the customers.

Which models do you think will play a huge role in Ducati’s presence in Australia? The Streetfighter V4 has drawn a lot of attention.

The Streetfighter is arriving now. We have a lot of interest in this bike and a lot of orders – not only in Australia and New Zealand, but worldwide it has been a big success. We are also implementing the V4 engine into the Multistrada, which is going to come early next year, most probably. By November, we’ll be able to provide news that we haven’t been able to disclose yet. But I think these are the key products. We also have the Superleggera coming now and we will start deliveries in August.

What can we expect with the new Multistrada V4?

The goal is to have a touring bike that can provide the feeling of Ducati. We had great success with the engine when we launched it on the Panigale, and I think with this new model, we are going to repeat that. I cannot disclose much about the features of the bike, as it isn’t yet released, but we are very confident that it will be an important and strategic model for us in the coming years.

Claudio Domenicali (Ducati CEO) has spoken about electric bikes – do you think Ducati can play a role in the rise of electric motorcycle technology?

I’m not very much aware of that, but it is a conversation that everyone is having. It seems to be the future for everyone. But what I can tell you is that our strategy in the short term is to make sure our bikes are the safest bikes in the market – not only the most powerful, but the safest. We are including more elements, like radar technology that can detect blind spots and inform the rider that there is a risk. These are the things you will see in the market very soon on new models.

Do you think we will see a shift to cheaper, and lower capacity, motorcycles in the future?

I think mid-sized motorcycles play an important role in the market. It is a good entry point for new customers. What we see normally is that motorcycling is something you do because you like it, so once you enter the world of motorcycling, the natural path will be to improve and upgrade your bike. We are focused on making really aspirational premium bikes and I think that will continue to be our DNA – to excite customers and have them dream about our products.

Where do you see the motorcycle industry in ten years’ time?

I think technology has changed a lot in the last few years. Now the bikes are much more powerful, much safer, and much easier to ride. I think biking, in general, will continue like that, because it’s a pleasure to use the bike and spend your time with the bike. It’s difficult to say, what is going to happen with different segments, but the important thing is that we are covering all the segments that motorcycling can offer. I think it’s important that we can offer any type of bike to any type of customer that wants to experience Ducati and I think we are very strong on that.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the company?

I think there are positives and negatives. Of course Italy was hit very hard by COVID, so from a production perspective, we had to close the factory for almost two months and there has been some impact on sales in the beginning. But we have seen positive things after the coronavirus pandemic. Online had been important to stay in touch with the customers, so we have reinforced our digital strategy, so that the customers can continue to have access to all of our products and services. I think this will continue in the future, not just in the time of the coronavirus.

Now you are here in Australia, are there any particular riding locations that you want to visit?

Well, you know, just prior to the coronavirus restrictions, I was booked to go to New Zealand to join the Desmo Owners Club for their annual ride in the South Island. I was very excited for that, but unfortunately I had to cancel due to coronavirus. But as soon as we are able to, I am going to discover Australia and New Zealand for sure.

What do you think is special about Ducati? Why does it resonate with people?

First of all, I think it’s the history. It’s a brand with more than 90 years of history. It’s a very special brand because it’s made of really passionate bikers. Everybody who works for Ducati, loves Ducati. When I went to Borgo Panigale for my interview, I went to the canteen, and they put the Supersport at the entrance of the canteen for all the employees to see, even though it was still a prototype. So I think everybody in Ducati, lives Ducati, like I haven’t seen anywhere else. I think we are very consistent with our values, which are style, sophistication and performance. And with MotoGP, we are the only brand that is a serious contender for the Japanese and that is very important for us too.