It is hard to put a price on an emotion. But that is precisely what Volkswagen is trying to do with Ducati, the celebrated “Red of a Thousand Victories”, cherished by an army of enthusiasts around the world. The motorcycle maker could become one of the levers — certainly not the only one, nor even the decisive one — that the German automotive group will use to pull itself out of the financial and commercial crisis it has landed in.
The Wolfsburg-based carmaker has confirmed that the Italian brand is among the assets under its control that it is considering selling to raise cash. “But nothing has been decided yet,” Volkswagen-Audi executives recently told Italian and Bologna-based authorities, which have mobilised to defend an undisputed symbol of Made in Italy.
