Strong speculations were there about German luxury car maker and part of Volkswagen Group, Audi, buying Italian sports bike manufacturer Ducati. Recently Audi made an official announcement informing that it has bought Ducati brand for 860 million Euros.
While on one hand it was a moment of content for Audi, on the other Mercedes AMG, Mercedes-Benz’s part that specializes in high performance luxury vehicles has ended its association with Ducati. The decision was taken immediately after Audi announced that it has acquired Ducati. The decision is well justified as both the German automakers are arch rivals and are in competition with each other for a long time.
The acquisition of Ducati Motor Holdings by Audi is confirmed and the rest of the details are expected to be disclosed by the end of April 2012. Acquiring Ducati wasn’t so easy for Volkswagen Group as it had to absorb Ducati’s debts worth close to 200 million Euros.
image – AMG Logo
Near the end of the year 2012, AMG and Ducati joined hands and started sharing market strategies but now that Audi bought the brand, the collaboration has come to an end. Mercedes-Benz has understandably ended the collaboration and has stated in their official press release that their aim was never to takeover Ducati and instead their focus was and is always on performance products.
With Audi and Ducati coming together, it is expected that new bikes and sporty lineup will be added to Ducati’s portfolio in the near future. Audi has a rich heritage of sporty design and engineering with it which is in sync with the Ducati’s vision as well. We will keep watching the developments on Ducati’s portfolio and will keep you posted on the same. For more updates, do stay tuned to us by signing up for our free email newsletter and like our official Facebook Page. Check out some more Mercedes Benz India news here.
