DUCATI STRATEGY DOWNUNDER

There’s been a lot going on at Ducati in the past year or two. Thanks largely to the release of a bunch of new and/or significantly updated models, the Italian manufacturer’s worldwide sales grew by 24% in 2021. But it’s what they’re doing in the Australian and New Zealand markets that grabbed our attention…

One: sales in Oz jumped an astronomical 50% in the past 12 months. Two: Ducati has made a concerted effort to bolster the off-road capabilities of their super-successful Multistrada models. And three: they’re about to release the much-anticipated DesertX, Ducati’s first genuine foray into the mid-capacity adventure bike market with a machine that combines retro styling with cutting-edge technology.

So, who better to shed some light on Ducati’s recent successes and future aspirations than industry veteran, Sergi Canovas, who was appointed Managing Director for both Australian and New Zealand markets in 2020, when Ducati – following a 50-year partnership with NF Importers – decided to set up a fully owned subsidiary to manage the Aussie and Kiwi markets?

When you meet Canovas, it’s immediately evident that the 48-year-old is an affable and engaging character with a deep knowledge of the brand, a genuine passion for both racing and riding motorcycles, and real conviction about Ducati’s mission. But what can Canovas tell us about Ducati’s intentions in the adventure bike market? And how does Ducati plan to meet the unique needs of Australian adventure riders? We sat down with Ducati’s likeable Spanish-born MD for some answers.

“If you work for a company that you have also been a customer of, it makes it easier to understand the relationship with your customer base.”

TM: Sergi, tell us a little bit about your motorcycling background and how the opportunity arose for you to take up the role of Managing Director for Ducati in Australia and NZ?
SC: I have been loving motorcycles since I was a kid. Even before I got my licence, I was riding trails on a Bultaco Sherpa with my father in Spain. So, I’ve been involved with motorbikes for as long as I can remember. But I first started to work in the motorcycle industry with the Piaggio Group – with Vespa, Aprilia, Derbi – in Spain. In fact, I worked with Piaggio for 12 years – in Spain, Indonesia, Japan and Vietnam – but at that same time, I was also a very passionate Ducatista; a customer of Ducati. So, while I was working with Piaggio in Vietnam, the opportunity to work with Ducati’s Indian subsidiary came up. And I grabbed it with two hands! I think it makes a big difference if you work for a company that you have also been a customer of. That makes you very much linked to the brand, which makes it easier to understand the relationship with your customer base. After three years as the Managing Director for Ducati in India, Ducati decided it was time to have a direct presence in Australia. In terms of sales, Australia is not in the top five worldwide markets for Ducati, but it is a very special market for us because the brand has such a strong and emotional link with Australia though our racing – through guys like Troy Bayliss, Casey Stoner and now Jack Miller. Australia is also interesting for me because the brand’s market share here is very high. At Ducati’s Bologna factory, when you talk about Australia, everybody wants to come here. So, I was honoured to be the one given the opportunity to come here.

Moving countries in early 2020 can’t have been easy, seeing as it coincided with Covid’s arrival.
No, it wasn’t. Actually, I first came here in August of 2019 to prepare the transition from the previous importers, who had worked with Ducati for more than 50 years. I then settled here in January, 2020. Which, as you know, was just before Covid hit, so I’ve been stuck here ever since [laughs]. With all the travel restrictions, it’s been a challenging two years in terms of operations. Thankfully, that has all changed now with the restrictions relaxed because one of our key strategies is getting our customers to experience and enjoy our bikes. That is why we are all very excited for the future.

And you’ve recently relocated the Ducati office in Sydney.
Yes, that was late last year. When we first set up the subsidiary here in Australia, it was very helpful for us to start operations in the same building as Audi as we are all part of the same group. But with the growth Ducati has experienced here in Australia, we quickly needed more space and moved the to a larger premises in Alexandria, where we are building what will be our flagship Sydney dealership right next to our office.

For 2021, Ducati in Australia managed to grow by 50 percent. And the market share we have in Australia is in the top-three of all markets around the world, which makes us very proud.”

It’s been a successful year for Ducati internationally – almost 60,000 units sold (the largest number in the brand’s 95-year history), which was up 24% YOY. What were the primary drivers of that growth?
Yes, that is a very encouraging sign for us. When you compare the numbers with the middle of 2020 – at the height of the pandemic’s impact – the factories were closed and the market dropped drastically. And at that time, the scenario looked very scary. So it’s true that the jump in sales from 2020 to 2021 sees a big increase. But it’s even more important to note that, even when compared to pre-pandemic numbers, the current sales are very strong. That’s why I say it’s a very encouraging sign for us. With so many people unable to travel during the pandemic and spend money on other things, it has given us an opportunity to appeal to new customers and for previous customers to resume their relationship with motorbikes. So it’s very important for us at this time to reinforce for them the reason why they bought the bike by providing them with a lot of excuses to use and enjoy it, if you know what I’m saying [laughs].

Ducati’s growth in Australia has been particularly strong – up 50% YOY! What do you attribute that Aussie market’s double world-average growth to?
Worldwide, the 500cc-plus motorcycle market (which is what we primarily monitor) grew around six percent in the past year. In Australia, the market remained stable mainly due to supply issues. But we managed to grow by 50 percent. What is most pleasing for us is that Ducati has seen growth in all the segments where we have a presence. And the market share we have in Australia is in the top-three of all markets around the world, which makes us very proud.

“Ducatis are very beautiful machines with a high level of technology, so one of our main missions is to offer amazing experiences to our customers through using our bikes.”

Ducati’s Multistrada is the gift that keeps on giving, with the all-new V4 being the biggest-selling model (almost 10,000 units worldwide in 2021). The V4 also been the big driver of growth in Australia and NZ, right?
Yes. Compared with the previous year, sales of our new Multistrada V4 jumped by 65 percent in 2021, meaning it continues to be a very important model for us. ‘Multistrada’ in Italian means ‘Multiple Roads’, but this latest evolution of the bike, the V4, saw a specific design focus shift to make it more capable off-road. Not just the 19-inch front wheel, but also the engine and many other components. This move toward a more off-road oriented bike was especially well received in Australia, where adventure customers are much, much more inclined to use the bike off-road more often. And that played a part in why we managed to grow more than the worldwide average. When you consider that we weren’t able to start delivering the new V4 until April, 2021, the result is even more outstanding. In addition to that, I think Ducati’s product range has been very relevant. The Panigale range has been very successful, especially with the V2. And we recovered in segments where we were not previous present. The Streetfighter, for example, has been a real success.

“It was clear that, if we wanted to get more customers, our Multistrada models had to evolve in a way that made them more capable off-road. And that is exactly what has happened with the new V4.”

What can you tell us about Ducati’s aspirations, both internationally and here in Oz/NZ?
Well, for some time, we have realised that we are not just selling motorbikes. Ducatis are very beautiful machines with a high level of technology, so one of our main missions is to offer amazing experiences to our customers through using our bikes. Part of Ducati’s motivation to have a direct presence in Australia was that we wanted to make sure we were closer to the customer; we wanted to shorten the communication between the brand and the customer, and I think this is easier to do with a subsidiary that is fully owned by Ducati. It gives us the chance to increase customer satisfaction through upgrading our dealer network – their facilities, their displays, their customer service – and our collective ability to engage customers via riding experiences and events.

In the past 12 months, Ducati has made a concerted effort to appeal to adventure-oriented customers, and even contracted Australia’s Nick Selleck as a ‘Product Genius’ for the MTS and DesertX models. Explain the thinking behind this shift.
Ducati’s range of models virtually touches all the segments – from cruisers right through to superbike models, and then there’s our Scrambler range. But it was clear that, if we wanted to get more customers, our Multistrada models had to evolve in a way that made them more capable off-road. And that is exactly what has happened with the new V4. I believe we now have the best adventure bike on the market, but I also know that some people may not even be considering our Multistrada V4 because when they think Ducati, they think ‘red and racing’ only. However, when they get the opportunity to ride one, they are pleasantly surprised with how capable the bike is. This is exactly what happened with Nick Selleck; a very experienced adventure rider who we engaged to run some rider training for us. We gave a V4 to Nick for a couple of weeks to test, and he came back very surprised. He said he thought it was amazing. So we knew we had the right product, and by starting this partnership with Nick, we now know we also have the right messenger. Nick has a direct line of communication with the factory in Italy so he can provide feedback about the unique needs of adventure riders in Australia and New Zealand, and how improvements to the models can meet those needs. For example, when Nick was doing some dealer training, he found the ABS in ‘Enduro’ mode was too intrusive and gave that feedback directly to the product manager in Italy. And those ABS settings were adjusted immediately. That really demonstrated to us how important it is for us to have somebody in that position; somebody to represent what our adventure riders want directly with the factory.

“We knew the DesertX needed to be very off-road capable; but at the same time, easy and comfortable to use on the road and capable of travelling long distances between refuelling.”

When Ducati released the 1200 Enduro model in 2015, it was the brand’s first foray into the ‘Maxi Enduro’ market segment. Does discontinuing the 1260 Enduro for 2022 indicate that Ducati believes the MTS V4 has superseded the Enduro, or just that there would be too much overlap with both models in the range?
I think both of those statements are true – the MTS V4 supersedes the 1260 Enduro, which means there would have been unnecessary overlap in our range. Previously, there was a big difference between the Multistrada (with a 17-inch front wheel) and the 1260 Enduro model. Now, however, those models are much closer when it comes to their off-road capabilities – not just the wheels, but also the power delivery, the ergos, everything. The V4 is an all-new model designed from scratch, so it made sense for us to concentrate all our energies on this new platform.

Speaking about adventure bikes, the impending release of the all-new DesertX, Ducati’s first model with a 21-inch front wheel, must have you very excited. That mid-capacity or mid-weight adventure market is already pretty well populated, so what is the DesertX’s compelling proposition? How will it differentiate itself and stand out from the pack?
The DesertX will be a major focus for us in the mid-capacity adventure segment, and we believe this machine is something the market really desires. A 21-inch front wheel, very off-road capable suspension, state-of-the-art electronics package, and designed as a sport tool that can be really pushed to the limit. We knew it needed to be very functional; but at the same time, easy and comfortable to use on the road and capable of travelling long distances between refuelling. Plus, it must be a Ducati. And by that, I mean a core Ducati characteristic is that we bring something new and unique when we enter a market segment. I think the DesertX’s combination of retro styling inspiration and cutting-edge technology ticks that box.

Can we expect to see a smaller-capacity DesertX model some time down the track?
We are always looking at expanding into new segments and opportunities to enter them with a compelling offering. And the adventure bike market is definitely a big and growing segment. But if we are going to enter a segment, we have to do it in Ducati style; in a different and unique way.

Speaking of different, can you give us an insight into Ducati’s electric-powered motorcycle plans, given that you’ll be producing the MotoE World Cup race bikes from the 2023 season onwards?
What I can say here is that Ducati’s approach with electric-powered motorcycles – or whatever is going to be the future – is consistent with the approach we currently take. That means testing first in a racing environment – the most challenging and demanding area – to figure out what the best solutions are, which are then deployed on our street bikes.

The DesertX’s $24,200 Ride Away price tag is very close to comparable models from KTM and Husqvarna. Is that because crowded market segments can lead to price-sensitive consumers?
Well, Ducati sets its pricing worldwide and final pricing for the models comes from Italy. Of course, we need our models to be price competitive, and I think we have the price positioning for the DesertX right. But I think it’s also very important that you look at what you get for the purchase price in the way of component quality, electronics package, etcetera, in this mid-capacity adventure bike segment. I can’t wait to see the DesertX in the flesh. We should see the new model landing here in July or August this year – bearing in mind they generally spend 75 days on the ocean at the moment.

Thanks for your time, Sergi. Look forward to catching up at the DesertX launch.
My pleasure, Andy. Absolutely.