Business – Domenicali and Dovizioso visit Ducati Paris – Occasions DUCATI

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Domenicali and Dovizioso visit Ducati Paris

Business - Domenicali and Dovizioso visit Ducati Paris - Occasions DUCATI

The Ducati Paris dealership inaugurated its new store and took advantage of the 2015 French Grand Prix to invite the CEO of the brand Claudio Domenicali and the MotoGP rider Andrea Dovizioso. Site was at the press conference. Selected pieces.

"On May 13, 2015, 200 guests celebrated the post-works inauguration of your store !", informs the Ducati Paris dealership on its official website."Among the guests, Claudio Domenicali, president of Ducati Motor Holding and Andrea Dovizioso honored us with their presence before the French round of MotoGP !".

Invited to the press conference preceding the evening, Site managed to meet with the CEO of the Borgo Panigale brand, and – a little more briefly – with the much sought after No.4 of the Reds (read our and our ).

Before discussing face to face with the two "big bosses" of Ducati (business and sport), Le Journal moto du Net wisely listened to their statements, as well as those of the director of Ducati West Europe Thierry Mouterde, of the sporting director of Ducati Corse Paolo Ciabatti and French driver Mike di Meglio, also invited by Axel Vilaseca, Managing Director of Ducati Paris and the .

Ducati in 2015: "more than 50,000 sales"

MNC wrote down some interesting information in his notebook, such as the fact that CEO Claudio Domenicali was already forecasting a new sales record for Ducati in 2015: "this year we will exceed 50,000 machines"against 45,100 in 2014 (read).

The big boss justifies this increase by the arrival in the Ducati range of several new products in 2015: of course, but also the versions of the two Monster and the Diavel, as well as the two deeply revised models: and .

"Unlike other manufacturers that have not been active in the hypersport segment for 7, 8 or 9 years, we will never stop developing our sports", emphasizes the great Italian boss on occasion."I even sincerely think that the very last sports bike will be a Ducati.".

Also according to Claudio Domenicali, sales of Ducati in the world grew by + 10% over the first four months of this year. "In the month of April alone, the increase was + 30% and this should accelerate further", he warns,"thanks to the Multistrada and the American market which has not yet received the 2015 novelties".

According to Thierry Mouterde, "on a French market for motorcycles over 500 cc at -4% since the start of the year, Ducati is at + 24%"(read our which also shows a + 13.3% increase in Ducati registrations in the month of April alone, with the best progression in the Top 10 manufacturers).

The director of Ducati West Europe takes the opportunity to congratulate the 58 dealers who make up the current French network, including "19 are exclusive, which is considerable", would like to clarify the DG."There are still 4 or 5 points to create to perfect our presence in the territory". To your CVs !

In France as elsewhere, the excellent results of the Bologna Rouges are mainly due to the Scrambler, presented by the Italians as a "new mark within the brand" and not an additional motorcycle in the Ducati range….

"This status is confirmed in sales and in the type of clientele captured: we respond to a strong demand for less impressive, less powerful and less complicated motorcycles.", analysis Claudio Domenicali who recalled a few minutes earlier the"three key values ​​of Ducati: style, sophistication and performance" !

"Scrambler to become Ducati’s bestseller (it is even the best selling motorcycle in Italy since January 1, Editor’s note) and it’s not a surprise for us", assures the big boss of Ducati" World "."From the presentation of the first drawings, we knew that the bike was there and that success would follow.".

The Scrambler is a hit

Could it be that Ducati cannot meet the demand, asks one of our colleagues? "It could indeed be a problem … rather pleasant", conceives the CEO,"but our factory in Bologna is very flexible and allows us to adapt our production".

And the same goes for the second Ducati factory, established four years ago in the Rayong District, which supplies the Asian, Oceanic and North American markets – the South American market is supplied by the factory which belongs to its partner Dafra (read).

However, there will be no "overproduction of scrambler", predicts Claudio Domenicali. He knows indeed that it is never good for a company – and its distribution network – to stock too much products. And then,"you have to know how to arouse expectation", adds the boss mischievously…

Having joined Ducati in 1991 as project manager for the Supermono, the current "CEO" naturally has a soft spot for this Scrambler which is at the same time light, compact and lively … But when asked what motorcycle makes it most proud as an engineer, he answers – almost – without hesitation: "the 1199 Panigale".

"Indeed, it was not easy to choose such an innovative frame, much lighter than the others but also very complicated to develop.", justifies Claudio Domenicali."And beyond the mechanics, this bike is aesthetically a masterpiece that you want to exhibit in your living room and that will not age.".

Admittedly in competition, the Super (be) bike was slow to gain its first victory at the highest level. But she now fights every race weekend for the win with Chaz Davies and Davide Giuglian, the two factory drivers in .

In the top category, Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso are the joy of the Reds: "four races and four podiums", they counted Wednesday evening. Since then, their n ° 4 took advantage of the to climb on a fifth podium.

"I am really happy to be part of this project", pointed out" Dovi "during the press conference held at the Ducati Store in Paris."We are starting to reach the desired level": that of Honda and Yamaha, official and" full factory "…

The MotoGP project is relaunched

"We are super happy", adds Claudio Domenicali."We had known for a few years that we had to change. Gigi Dall’igna has managed to keep the best of Ducati, while improving and accelerating the relationship between the truck on the circuit and the factory, and correctly interpreting the riders’ feedback.".

As inevitable, the question of the failure of Valentino Rossi at the "Rosso" is again asked by a journalist … "It’s weird"Says the CEO of Ducati frankly,"we still don’t understand. The bike he started on had made podiums a few weeks earlier, but it never worked".

Invited by his "very big boss" to give his opinion on this thorny issue, Andrea Dovizioso has no more concrete explanations to put forward. "First, I did not experience this episode from the inside", underlines the pilot in the preamble.

"Casey won races", Andrea recalls,"but seen from the outside, this motorcycle was not… (he then mimics with his hand a motorcycle waving in all directions, Editor’s note). Let’s say, "normal" … Personally, I was glad that Vale didn’t make it because it proved he wasn’t an alien. He failed and somewhere, it’s reassuring. Today he is back on top, but it took him a year of rehabilitation".

Asked about his own performance, Andrea admits to having taken the wrong direction to: "it is not easy to develop a new motorcycle (the GP15 replaced the GP14.2 at the start of the season, editor’s note!) during race weekends and at the last GP, we tried some settings that did not work".

"Tests carried out at Mugello (in private, May 11 and 12, Editor’s note) allowed us to test many parts and correct the situation", assured the second rider in the MotoGP general classification at the time (he is third, 19 points behind Rossi and 4 behind Lorenzo at the end of the French GP).

Ducati on other tracks…

Andrea being reluctant to reveal the sources of improvements to his bike – not at all willing in fact, "keep your secrets secret"! -, the questions are redirected to the Ducati brand and its commercial development. We learn that Claudio Domenicali went to China last week…

"Each year, around 15 million two-wheelers are sold there, but only 5,000 units are large-displacement.", relativizes the CEO."In bigger cities like Shanghai or Beijing, you need a license plate to ride a big motorcycle. Similar to that of taxi licenses, this system greatly limits sales. But we are still second brand there".

Asked about the electric motorcycle, the Italian boss recognizes that "nobody can turn their back on this type of engine, but personally, I consider that the proposed solutions are not marketable. In three or four years maybe, but not today".

Last major point addressed during this press conference: the influences of the German manufacturer Audi on the direction of the Ducati brand (already!). On this subject, Claudio Domenicali is not stingy with comments or compliments…

"Audi is our sole owner and influences everything", explains the leader of the Reds."When they arrived, they approved our vision for the Ducati brand but urged us to step up our efforts in terms of quality of service, customer relations and commitment to competition.".

Audi also – and above all! – allowed Ducati to get back on its feet financially: "it should be remembered that we have often changed owners: Cagiva,, the State, etc. Audi has paid off our debts and now allows us to earn money".

"Second, Audi wants Ducati to remain Ducati", insists Domenicali. However, the" small "brand of motorcycles learns a lot from the carmaker (which itself belongs to the giant Volkswagen)."Audi has 40,000 engineers, while Ducati has only a thousand employees, all trades combined".

Also when the Bologna plant has a problem in developing a new motorcycle, "whether starter, dashboard display or electronic engine power management, it doesn’t matter", illustrates the CEO of Ducati,"we only need to spend three days with them to solve the problem".

There is hardly any interest except in terms of pure sales: "we will not find at Audi the same spirit as in a Ducati dealership where we talk about racing, mechanics, etc.."assures the CEO of Ducati. The gleaming appearance of the new Ducati Paris Store, however, tends to suggest the opposite. Ducati customers – and Scrambler – will decide !

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