In fact Ducati says it has watched with keen interest, a number of brands - especially European manufacturers, entering low engine displacement segments, attracted by their volume potential. "Volume potential is not the only reason to look at these segments with interest. If on one side in the emerging markets there is a tactical volume potential - in India, but also Brazil or China - where the market is huge; in the Western markets we see a trend that the typical motorcycle customer is getting old. We are not getting new young customers in the market. So is this something taboo for Ducati? No, we have to think of all possibilities for the future of our company." says Andrea Buzzoni, Global Director of Sales and Marketing, Ducati.
Ducati xDiavel S
Buzzoni says that the only way to achieve scale and volume in these markets like India is not necessarily just through smaller displacement bikes. Entering segments that Ducati traditionally did not operate in will also be something to consider. Ducati has had a very big worldwide success with the Scrambler family of motorcycles over the past two years - which now account for 30% of its global sales. It will consider getting into other non-performance oriented segments - including smaller engine motorcycles in the near future. Buzzoni says, "There is no plan or decision about this yet. But as a mature company that has to think globally and strategically in a market that is not growing, we have to think about all the possibilities." To this end Ducati is also open to looking at potential partnerships with existing mass motorcycle players like Hero or Royal Enfield, since Honda is a global rival and TVS has already inked a similar partnership with BMW Motorrad.
But that is not the only potential Buzzoni sees in India. Given that Ducati is still a young brand with small volumes today, it will look at all opportunities to help grow its India business quickly. One of those is to also see if there are any synergies with Audi (its parent company) in India. A similar study has been carried out worldwide to see if there is any potential for synergising the operations of the two brands to achieve bigger growth and increase profitability. "Anything that does not belong to the characteristic business, that is product, brand, customer and service. But everything that is behind it - the difference between car dealer and motorcycle dealer is not much. We already have some contact with Audi (India). It is an opportunity we have and we can use it, every time it makes sense." While the two brands currently have completely independent operations in India, Ducati has already begun working with some of Audi India's partner entrepreneurs (read dealers) to help expand its own network.
