Ducati CEO Claudio DomenicalliWhen Ducati unveiled its Scrambler, it described the design as “post-heritage” – a contemporary take on a classic model. The hype was huge before the September unveiling, Ducati knowing it had created something appealing for modern-motorcycle culture.The Scrambler was an immediate hit, many stateside dealers filling orders quickly. And now, the Scrambler is attributed to helping Ducati Motor Holding achieve record sales for the first-half of 2015. The 2015 Ducati sales follows a trend of positivity that began five years ago.
Ducati says through June 2015 Ducati sales increased 22 percent over the first-half of 2014. All together, 32,600 Ducati motorcycles were sold. Leading the group was the Scrambler with 9,000 units sold. This was followed by the Multistrada 1200 (4,700 units sold); Monster 821 (3,700 sold) and Panigale 1299 models (over 3,000 sold). Ducati also reported positive sales for its Diavel, 899 Panigale, Hypermotard and Monster 1200.Ducati ScramblerDucati showed growth throughout the world. Performance during the first six months of 2015 confirms the USA as Ducati’s leading market with sales rising about 10 percent. The biggest percentage increase was recorded in Italy (+51 percent), followed by Spain (+38), the UK (+36), Germany (+24) and France (+23).The results for June set a new monthly record (the previous best was April 2015) with bike sales topping 7,400, a 60-percent increase compared to the same month in 2014. June also saw the Ducati brand achieve record sales in North America (more then 1,900 bikes sold) and Japan (more then 500 bikes sold).“This record-breaking performance by Ducati in the first half of 2015 stems from the incredible efforts made over the last two years. Products like the Scrambler, Multistrada and 1299 Panigale reflect the extraordinary talent of workers who, day after day, dedicate themselves to making customers’ dreams come true,” says Claudio Domenicali, CEO of Ducati Motor Holding“This exceptional growth is the result of teamwork, an ability to handle the complexity of selling in over 90 countries and running 11 branches and 3 production plants. That makes me incredibly proud. A big helping hand has, of course, come from the Ducati Corse racing division, of which our customers are the biggest fans.”
Honda CRF-E2 Electric + Dale Schmidtchen and the $50M V-Rod
byMotos and Friends by Ultimate Motorcycle
Hello everyone and welcome to Ultimate Motorcycling’s podcast, Motos and Friends. My name is Arthur Coldwells.
This week’s episode is brought to you by Yamaha YZF-R7. The R7 lives up to its legendary name, as a high-performance supersport machine. Check it out at at your local Yamaha dealer, or of course at YamahaMotorsports.com.
In this week’s first segment, Editor Don Williams and I chat about electric bikes and the electric bike revolution that is likely the future of motorcycling. Actually this episode is specifically about Honda’s new CRF-E2… an electric dirt-bike for kids. We asked our tester, 8-year old Avery Bart to put the E2 through its paces and according to Don, she loved it. Honda has stated that the company goal is for 50% of its sales to be electric by 2030—an ambitious goal for sure, and the CRF-E2 is the first step in that direction.
In the second segment, I chat with one of my Aussie motorcycle industry friends—Dale Schmidtchen. Dale has worked for most of the major moto factories globally during his career, and his take on his CF Moto ADV bike is interesting. Beyond that, one his many projects is currently helping to sell the world’s most expensive motorcycle—a Harley V-Rod worth around 50 million dollars. Yes, that’s 50 million with an ‘M’.
Dale also owned a race team in the 1990s and helped bring several well-known Aussie racers to the world stage. He’s a very modest, matter-of-fact guy, but I always really enjoy chatting with him; I hope you enjoy listening.
Incidentally, if you’ve got around fifty mill burning a hole in your pocket and you fancy owning the so-called ‘Mona Lisa of motorbikes’—contact us at producer@ultimatemotorcycling.com and we’ll put you in touch with Dale.
From all of us here at Ultimate Motorcycling, we hope you enjoy this episode!