Volkswagen Group is reportedly weighing a sale of Ducati, the Bologna-based motorcycle manufacturer it has owned since 2012, in a move that could value the Italian brand at roughly $1.5 billion. The review is part of a sweeping portfolio evaluation covering some 600 of the automaker’s roughly 2,000 businesses worldwide, according to Transport Topics.
The Numbers Behind a Possible Sale
Bloomberg Intelligence analysts peg Ducati’s value at approximately €1.25 billion, or about $1.5 billion, a figure cited in reporting on the potential deal by NewsBytes. Ducati generated 925 million euros in revenue in 2025 on roughly 50,000 motorcycles sold, but operating profit came in at just 52 million euros as margins slid from 9.1 percent to 5.6 percent year over year, per Transport Topics. Those figures sit well below the 9 percent operating margin Volkswagen has set as a target for its brands by 2030, a gap Audi’s chief executive has pointed to directly.
What Audi’s CEO Is Saying
Audi CEO Gernot Döllner, whose division has managed Ducati since the acquisition, addressed the speculation without confirming a deal. “Within the Volkswagen Group, we are committed to a disciplined, responsible portfolio management. It’s part of the evaluation process that we’ll also talk about Ducati, but nothing has been decided,” he said, according to Transport Topics. Volkswagen’s supervisory board has already approved shrinking the group’s overall business portfolio by about a third as the automaker works to cut costs and eliminate 100,000 jobs by 2030.
A Second Attempt at a Ducati Exit
This would not be Volkswagen’s first attempt to sell Ducati. A 2017 effort collapsed after opposition from labor representatives on the supervisory board, and the brand has only grown more prominent since, winning six consecutive MotoGP constructors’ championships dating back to 2020, per Transport Topics. Rising U.S. tariffs, which affect Ducati’s second-largest market, are adding fresh financial pressure even as its racing program thrives, according to NewsBytes.
Whether Volkswagen ultimately follows through remains unclear, and Döllner’s own language suggests the outcome is far from settled. But with the group’s cost-cutting mandate intensifying, Ducati’s place inside the Volkswagen empire looks less secure than it has in years.