Market reports – Ducati: a year of transition – Used DUCATI

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Ducati: a year of transition

Market reports - Ducati: a year of transition - Used DUCATI

The Italian manufacturer has a record in line with the 2004 market, qualified as a transition to a year 2005 full of promise. For Moto-Net, the CEO of Ducati France reaffirms its role as a niche manufacturer. Interview.

The Italian manufacturer has a record in line with the 2004 market, qualified as a transition to a year 2005 full of promises. For Moto-Net, the CEO of Ducati France reaffirms its role as a niche manufacturer. Interview.

Moto-Net: The results of large-displacement sales in France in 2004 show good progress in the high-end segment of motorcycles with a strong personality for enthusiasts (Triumph, Harley Davidson, Buell, BMW, etc.), except for Ducati . What do you attribute this stagnation in your sales last year? ?
Dominique Cheraki, General Manager of Ducati France: First of all, we must not lose sight of who we are and where we come from: Ducati is a small manufacturer compared to our Japanese competitors who have a production capacity and a sales network far superior to us. In France, our market share has been steadily increasing in recent years, even though the motorcycle market was undergoing restructuring. Today our results keep pace with the market, they are up when the market is up and this year we are holding up overall as the market is going down. Finally, our flagship products performed very well in 2004: the S4R made + 50% despite its price in the high range of its market segment, and the ST family recorded a 76% increase in sales..

Moto-Net: Which models are marking time? Sporty, roadsters or Multistrada ?
D. C .: Only the Supersport family is running out of steam. For the rest, the Monster family increased its sales by 8%, the 999 and 749 models held up before a makeover and performance increase for 2005 and the Mustistrada, with 8% market share in its segment, met its objectives: announced by two years before its release, its 2003 sales result was in fact the reflection of an order book of 18 months. Finally, while we were selling 250 Monster 800cc per year, we have already sold 600 copies of its replacement, the S2R! The public therefore praised its character traits typical of a Ducati, its engine full of sensations and its sensation / performance compromise well in tune with the times in France today, in a period of increased repression of speeding..

Moto-Net: Don’t you suffer from the fact that your Japanese and European competitors have cleverly taken up your concept of twin-cylinder engines packed with feelings with the enhancing aesthetics (Mostro) by adding a better reputation for reliability and a lower maintenance cost ( Suzuki SV, Buell, Aprilia Tuono, Yamaha Bulldog, and in 4 cylinders with similar behavior, the Kawasaki Z) ?
D. C .: We do not suffer from it and on the contrary, we take pleasure in it! Because it is Ducati’s raison d’être to design products that can be "iconized". If we make our competitors want to copy us, so much the better! This is proof that our products are validated by our competitors in addition to being validated by our customers. We sell more Monster today than two years after its release (Editor’s note: the Mostro appeared in 1992). Someone who buys a Ducati wants to find the specificities of Ducati motorcycles in terms of mechanics and character, and especially that his motorcycle is called a Ducati !

Moto-Net: Isn’t it time to switch to a 4-cylinder sports car to compete with Japanese sports cars, like you did in MotoGP ?
D. C .: No. 98% of sports motorcycle owners never set foot on a circuit. The choice of 4 cylinders is justified in the perspective of the MotoGP championship and more generally of competition on the track. On the road, will you have more fun by reaching 14,000 rpm on a 4-cylinder once every two months, or 3,000 rpm every day on our thrilling twin-cylinders? The 4-cylinder is efficient in the game of pure performance, but on the road sensation and pleasure go hand in hand with twin cylinders for Ducati.

Moto-Net: How do you plan to raise the bar in 2005 in France? Can we expect the implementation of a more aggressive pricing policy in Ducati dealerships? ?
D. C .: As I said when answering your first question, we do not have to raise the bar. We are a small manufacturer that produces 40,000 vehicles a year: 12,000 motorcycles are sold in Italy, 6,000 in the United States and the rest of the world has to share the other 22,000. 2004 was a year of transition for Ducati in France, which allowed us on the one hand to consolidate sales of the S4R, which only really came out in mid-2003, and on the other hand to replace the ST3. In 2005, we hope to nibble on market share thanks to the S2R, the 620 Multistrada (Editor’s note: see next question) and the 999 redesigned and improved performance. We will therefore not implement an aggressive pricing policy, because it is neither in our philosophy nor in our strategy, as we have neither the need nor the capacity, for the moment, to produce more than 80,000 motorcycles. per year ! Remember that a few years ago the world production of the Honda CBR 600 alone was equal to all of the world production of Ducati! I repeat, we are a small niche manufacturer of products with a strong personality, the challenge of which is to hold on and defend our market share.

Moto-Net: Isn’t the Multistrada concept too far removed from the Ducati spirit ?
D. C .: What is the Ducati spirit? They are motorcycles with sensations giving pleasure. If the Ducati spirit was one of performance, then yes the Multistrada would be far removed from that spirit. But performance is not the spirit, but the heritage of Ducati. The Multistrada gives sensations and pleasure, it is playful, easy to handle, so yes, it is in the Ducati spirit. The best proof? This family will grow with the arrival in February of the Multistrada 620. Our great difficulty is to stick to the wishes of our customers, who sometimes have different philosophies: some want to buy a motorbike from competition, and therefore Title the 999 is probably the sportier on sale closest to a race bike in design, but others like our customers in Monster follow a different philosophy. It’s up to us not to be mistaken…

Moto-Net: Isn’t the high maintenance cost of Ducati a brake on the development of the brand, in particular for the most versatile models like the Multistrada or the ST ?
D. C .: It’s not a drag, it’s a corollary! Our production is the result of a choice, that of quality including strong technology. The cost of maintenance is a necessary reality by product design, it is in direct line with the cost of engine and vehicle development. Thus the maintenance cost is not the same as that of a more basic or very widely distributed machine like those of the Japanese competition. Also, do not put all Ducati products in the same bag when it comes to maintenance costs. For example, the cost of maintaining a 999 or S4R is different from the cost of maintaining an ST or Multistrada. The 2-valve Ducati, due to its simplicity, versatility and air cooling, is less expensive to maintain.

Moto-Net: Isn’t the Ducati Store network too exclusive? Not enough points of sale, too high an investment for the dealer? Don’t you pay for the abandonment of certain small, competent and reputable agents who could not afford to invest in a Ducati Store? ?
D. C .: I do not understand the meaning of your question. In fact, in France we have around ten Ducati Stores out of a total of 70 Ducati points of sale. The reduction in the network is the result of a quality approach and the implementation of more rigorous selection criteria. This development was accompanied by a training policy to improve the skills of the network. The Ducati Stores coexist with traditional dealerships and find their legitimacy in very specific conditions: large cities with significant economic activity. They absolutely do not replace other Ducati dealerships, those which sell 20 to 30 motorcycles per year and which are not affected by a transformation into a Ducati Store because that would go against economic logic. 90% of our Ducati Stores are already open, we only have 2 to 3 projects still in progress.

Moto-Net: The 125cc market continues to grow with the ever-huge potential market for adult motorists on a budget, who want a rewarding vehicle and a majority of whom are at an age when the "Ducati" myth makes sense. Will we one day see Ducati 125s in dealerships? ?
D. C .: No ! It is not in the Ducati spirit to make and sell 125s. A Ducati today is made up of essential ingredients: a twin-cylinder engine, Desmodromic distribution, a tubular Trellis frame. These fundamentals don’t make sense in 125 cc. Would you ask Ferrari if they are considering selling MPVs or RVs ?

Moto-Net: Do you have any regrets about Aprilia’s failed takeover attempt? Would the merger of the two groups have been beneficial to both brands or on the contrary, in view of your results and theirs, do you consider that it is ultimately better this way? ?
D. C .: We wondered how to make a possible takeover of Aprilia a success and in the end it did not happen because the cost of the acquisition was too high for us. Certain aspects were exciting, such as the challenge that this represented, with the constitution of a very large Italian pole. Other points were sources of difficulty: three different production sites with three different crops, and a range of products that were both complementary but also competing. Thus, we did not go far enough in the operation to let us know whether such a merger would have been beneficial to both groups. In the end, it is better this way because we do not waste any more time phosphorizing to find out how to make such a takeover fruitful, and we can concentrate on our priority today which is to move Ducati forward! But the story may not be over…

Interview by Fred RENARD

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