Ducati Heading Strong into 2022
The last year was a difficult one in many ways. But not so much Ducati—2021 was the Italian moto manufacturer’s best year on record.
“2021 was a magical year for Ducati,” summarized the company’s CEO Claudio Domenicali. The numbers Ducati recently released sure back up Domenicali’s words.
The company delivered a total of 59,447 motorcycles, more than ever during its 95-year history. That’s more than 10,000 bikes over what the company sold in 2020.
The Multistrada V4 was (to the surprise of nobody, we’re sure) Ducati’s most successful model last year, with 9,957 motorcycles sold worldwide. Not far behind was the Scrambler 800 family (9,059 bikes), with the Monster in third place (8,734 bikes). American Ducatistis were out in force last year and they successfully propelled the U.S. back to becoming Ducati’s largest single market. But it wasn’t just about America, and the company reported double-digit growth in every major country it operates in. Ducati’s new Australian subsidiary gave the riders down under the relatively strongest Ducati fever, though. The company’s sales in Australia jumped up by 50%—clearly the Aussies like Italian speedsters.
But sales aren’t everything. Good for Ducati, then, that it excelled in motorcycle competitions as well. The company won the title of MotoGP Constructors’ World Champion for the second year in a row.
Beating Challenges
Ducati managed to squeeze out a record year even in the face of significant global challenges. These results didn’t come without some careful measures, according to Domenicali.
“The pandemic, which is still underway, in addition to generating so much suffering, has also made activities more complex, forcing us to conduct a continuous internal reorganization,” Domenicali said in a statement. “Supply chains created delivery delays for which I want to apologize to all Ducatisti, thanking them for their patience.”
Getting more Ducati’s on the streets was partially due to the company’s expanded retail network. According to Ducati Vice President of Global Sales and After Sales, Francesco Milicia, the company opened 84 new dealerships worldwide. Of course, those dealerships won’t help if nobody’s buying the bikes. But clearly Ducatisti were happy to get their hands on new motorcycles more easily.
Record Start to the New Year
Despite a record-breaking 2021, Ducati isn’t resting on its laurels. “We are starting 2022 with an even more complete range, which is already receiving high praise, as demonstrated by the best order portfolio ever at the beginning of the year,” said Milicia. Ducati will roll out nine new models in 2022, expanding to bike classes and areas it has not been as active in. Among the new bikes is the DesertX, Ducati’s first foray into the world of mid-sized ADV motorcycles.
The company isn’t abandoning its roots, though, and street and race bikes are set to receive plenty of attention as well. Just as an example, the Panigale V4 and V4 S are getting tweaked for 2022. “With the DesertX, we will have from this year on an extremely attractive proposal for adventure fans, and other ambitious projects are currently in development,” said Domenicali, hinting at things to come.
