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 Post subject: VW's Audi buys Ducati
PostPosted: April 18, 2012, 1:30 pm 
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http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/18/audi-ducati-idUSWEA836920120418

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(Reuters) - Volkswagen's Audi division said it agreed to buy Italian motorcycle maker Ducati, adding a 12th brand to the German auto maker's portfolio of passenger cars, trucks and ultra-luxury vehicles.

The 20-member supervisory board of Europe's largest car maker approved the purchase on Wednesday, Audi said in a statement. It did not disclose details of the deal, though sources told Reuters on April 17 that Audi agreed to buy Ducati for about 860 million euros ($1.13 billion).

Ducati, which has won 13 rider's Superbike World Championships since 1988, will extend Audi's long-standing rivalry with Bayerische Motoren Werke to superbikes.

Audi outsold Daimler's Mercedes-Benz last year and has vowed to surpass BMW for the top spot in luxury car sales this decade.

The company said it aimed to complete the purchase of Ducati as quickly as possible once it has received approval by the relevant regulators.

Analysts have questioned the Ducati purchase, saying the move bears no economic or industrial logic and solely reflects VW Chairman Ferdinand Piech's passion for the Italian company's expertise on design and light engines.

Ducati also brings in liabilities of well below 200 million euros, one official told Reuters.

"I can't think of a concrete reason for Audi to warrant a business case for buying Ducati," said Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center of Automotive at the University of Applied Sciences in Bergisch-Gladbach.

"Ducati doesn't enhance Audi's business model in any way, it's just a trophy in the wall cabinet," he added.

Ducati makes about 40,000 two-wheelers a year across its range of cruiser, supermoto, adventure, naked and superbikes that include the muscular Diavel and dual sport Hypermotard. By comparison, industry leader Honda sold over 16 million motorcycles last year.

Under Piech, who looks set to win re-election as chairman at VW's annual general meeting in Hamburg on April 19, VW expanded its empire to include everything from fuel-efficient city cars to 40-tonne trucks.

The Wolfsburg-based car maker is currently looking for ways to buy a remainder of 50.1 percent of sports-car maker Porsche and said on April 13 that it further raised its majority stake in truck maker MAN.

($1 = 0.7610 euros) (Reporting By Andreas Cremer)


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PostPosted: April 20, 2012, 12:00 pm 
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It sucks that smaller companies find it hard to stay independent. Ducati part of the corporate conglomerate now. VW seems to try and buy everything that is profitable. they even have competing supercars.

I am offended that Ducati would allow VW to have a controlling share. VW group needs Ducati like an Elephant needs a bicycle.

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PostPosted: April 20, 2012, 2:00 pm 
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From a business perspective, I think VW buying Ducatti is a great thing for VW. It's money, plain and simple. VAG's closest are the Lamborghini Gallardo and the Audi R8, which are very closely compared from the perspective of someone who views both as "dream" cars never to be owned, but for someone with the means, there is a fairly large gap between the two.

Also, the overlap is always the top end of one brand, and the bottom end of the other. R8 is top line for Audi, Gallardo is the easier to swallow Lambo. VW R32 is in the top for a sporty VW, and the Audi TT is on the lower end of Audi. (R32 and TT are essentially the same car)

Plus, now Audi will be able to compete against BMW on two wheels as well as four.

And let us not forget how much better Modern German owned Lamborghinis are when compared to their elders. Just don't mix up that sentence with me saying Ducatti needs fixing. I don't have any personal experience with them.

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PostPosted: April 20, 2012, 9:14 pm 
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It's very different. BMW has been making motorcycles along with cars since before the war. It's part of the soul of BMW. VAG and Ducati?? there is no continuty or sense there. The average Duc owner won't be happy about such a takeover. At least it wasn't Tata.

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PostPosted: April 20, 2012, 10:40 pm 
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A mid engine 1 liter 200 hp V4 with a 13,500 redline? Hmmmm.........

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PostPosted: April 21, 2012, 6:47 am 
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I have no idea what Ducatti's intellectual property portfolio is like, but I'm not really surprised. In many ways bike engines have a noteworthy head start down the power to weight and power to efficiency roads that car manufacturers will need to tread. Who knows what IP the bike companies have already locked up that may be relevant to ultra efficient car engines. Haven't both Ford and GM used Yamaha in the past as when developing very high performance engines?

In addition to the engine and driveline areas, it wouldn't surprise me if some of the bike companies have more practical experience with ultra-lightweight structures, light weight plastics and composites, and low draw / high efficiency electronics as well.

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PostPosted: April 23, 2012, 3:08 pm 
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There isn't all that much to be learned from the motorbike world. EFI and electronics tend to be a couple of generations behind automobile stuff. The 13,000 RPM engines are meant to work best at 9000 rpm and up. Fuel economy is tertiary. The bikes could benefit from better engine management and direct injection. All the lightweight tech is shared with auto racing.

It's just a 'cause we can attitude by VAG, sure the shared expertise might be helpful in some way.

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