Ducati sells 53,004 bikes in 2018, Panigale world's best-selling superbike

Ducati Motor has announced global sales of 53,004 motorcycles, crossing the 50,000-bike threshold, first reached by Ducati in 2015, for four years running. However, this number, compared to 2017’s sales of 55,871 units marks year-on-year de-growth of 5.13 percent. Ducati says this is due to the over-500cc motorcycle market shrinking by around 3 percent.

A significant contribution to CY2018 sales has come from the success of the Panigale family, which accounted for the sale of 9,700 bikes (70% increase on 2017), making Ducati, for the very first time, the leader of the superbike segment with a market share of over 26 percent. In 2018 one superbike out of every four sold worldwide was a Ducati Panigale. 

On November 13, 2018, Ducati delivered the first Panigale V4 Speciale in India. Priced at Rs 51.81 lakh (ex-showroom), the Panigale V4 Speciale is available across all Ducati dealerships in Delhi – NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kochi, Kolkata and Chennai.

Equally successful was the Multistrada family which in 2018 sold 11,829 motorcycles. The family saw the addition of the new Multistrada 1260, due to which sales rose by 25 percent (compared to 2017), with 6,569 bikes sold.

"While 2018 was challenging for the big motorcycles market, with slowdowns in important countries like the US, Ducati had, by the end of the year, delivered over 53,000 bikes to customers worldwide, consolidating the growth achieved in recent years," said Claudio Domenicali, CEO of Ducati Motor Holding. "In 2018 we achieved stability and the year was positive both in terms of business and racing. We won numerous MotoGP races and developed an exceptional bike. In short, the solidity of the company remains undisputed, as does our penchant for driving ahead with innovation and product development so we can, over the coming years, continue offering customers new icons of style and technology.”

“To rise to new market challenges," added Francesco Milicia, Global Sales Director, "we're working to make our sales network more efficient than ever. For 2019 we've also overhauled the Scrambler 800 range – which, among other things, has received a major active safety boost in the form of cornering ABS – and launched new products such as the Diavel 1260 and Hypermotard 950. The Multistrada family saw the arrival of the 1260 Enduro and 950 S, giving customers a wider choice than ever. Lastly, we've introduced the V4 R, the most powerful, highest-tech superbike ever built by Ducati to provide a foundation for renewed competitiveness in the WorldSBK championship. It has already proved to be a big hit with Ducatisti. In total, we're talking about nine new models that allow us to look to the future with confidence.” 

How the markets performed 
In Italy growth proved to be solid (+ 4.5%) reaching 9,200 bikes and making the country back as Ducati's largest market.

Spain also performed strongly with 2,444 motorcycles sold (+ 8%), with further growth observed in Japan with 1,941 bikes (+ 2%) and Switzerland with 1,276 bikes (+ 2.2%).

Bike deliveries in the USA – historically Ducati's number one market – totalled 7,843, the drop-in sales reflecting a 9 percent downturn across the US sector of motorcycles over 500cc.

On Asian markets Ducati continues to ride the upward trend, especially in China (+29 %) where a new direct branch has been established and the sales network has expanded from 19 to 23 dealerships.