Italian:
Ducati (Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A., NYSE: DMH) was founded in 1926 by founder Antonio Cavalieri Ducati. An Italian motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Bologna, Italy. Its products are renowned for their excellent performance and Italian design.
Speaking of motorcycles, everyone should be familiar with them. As a trendy means of transportation, many young people like them very much. But when it comes to motorcycle brands, we may not be so familiar with American, Harley, Ducati, motorcycle, and Haojue.
Ducati (Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A., NYSE: DMH) was founded in 1926 by founder Antonio Cavalieri Ducati. It is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Bologna, Italy. Its products are renowned for their excellent performance and Italian design.
In 1926, DUCATI family engineer Antonio Cavalieri Ducati and local gentlemen from the Bologna region of Italy formed the Ducati Radio Equipment Manufacturing Company, focusing on the research and production of radio communication technology. During the Second World War, the factory was destroyed by fire, but it also saw a gradual increase in demand for vehicles after the war, and soon began to enter other industrial fields.
In 1946, DUCATI launched the Cucciolo, the first single-cylinder engine in the history of the company, which was managed by the Italian Industrial Promotion Association at the time. This engine is configured on ordinary bicycles. It was designed by the Turin-based SIATA company and has sold 250,000 units worldwide.
Although it was just a small engine installed on a bicycle, it allowed DUCATI to enter the field of motorcycle manufacturing, and the motorcycle department was established as a branch of the company.
In 1952, DUCATI launched the Cruiser, the first motorcycle equipped with an electric starter motor and automatic transmission system with a displacement of 175cc, and officially became a motorcycle manufacturer. The 450 Mark 3 D (top speed up to 170km/h) launched in 1968 was DUCATI’s first model equipped with the DESMODROMIC valve drive method. In 1972, in order to participate in the IMOLA 200 MIGLIA competition, DUCATI launched a twin-cylinder engine equipped with DESMO and won first or second place in the event. In 1983, DUCATI was acquired by the CAGIVA Group. DUCATI focused its development in the field of SUPERBIKE. However, at this time, it also fell into financial constraints and its subsidiaries were not operating well.
In 1985, the company was sold to another Italian motorcycle manufacturer, Cagiva of Varese, whose control of Ducati lasted until 1996. In the same year, Texas Pacific Group acquired 51% of Ducati's shares and acquired 100% ownership within the next two years. In 1993, the Monster designed by Argentinian designer Miguel Galluzzi found light for DUCATI in the gloom of financial crisis. The 916 launched in 1994 was an epoch-making and revolutionary work of DUCATI, and it also won the honor of being a world classic car.
In 1996, dragged down by other subsidiaries of the group, DUCATI was taken over by the PACIFIC Group of Texas, USA. In 1999, the company was renamed Ducati Motorcycle Holding Company, and the Texas Fund invested 100% of it. Sixty-five shares were put on the market, and in the 1950s Ducati produced a more powerful bike - the MARIANNA - with a 98cc single-cylinder engine.
Since then, the famous Ducati engineer FABIO TAGLIONI has continuously developed other models. TAGLIONI's greatest innovation is the development of DESMODROMI vacuum gears. To this day, DESMODROMI has been used on every vehicle made by Ducati.
In 2006, an Italian industrial investment holding company acquired Ducati. Since then, the Ducati trademark has returned to Italy. The new owner’s management team has given birth to DUCATI’s ST series, which has also made DUCATI’s The product line has expanded from the previous sports cars and street cars to the field of sports SUVs.
Since DUCATI’s financial crisis is due to the drag of other subsidiaries of the group, the R&D team and products are still very good. After the new owner invested a lot of money, DUCATI once again showed its majesty as a royal capital, and new models continued to be introduced. But it still adheres to the style of L-shaped twin-cylinder engine, DESMO mechanism and chrome-molybdenum alloy bridge type seamless steel tube frame.
For decades, Ducati has been known for its high-performance characteristics. In 1958, Ducati participated in the World Motorcycle Championship and won its first 125CC Grand Prix. From then on, a myth was born.
Ducati continues to win the 125CC, 250CC and 500CC World Motorcycle Championships. 1972 was a turning point. A new sports car - the 750 Double V, unexpectedly won the IMOLA 200 Champions Cup and caused a sensation in the world. Thus began the modern Ducati Double V era.
1987 was another watershed for Ducati. That year MARCO LUCCHINELLI drove the OTTOVALVOLE 851 to win DAYTONA. For the first time, Ducati's double V-type could compete with the Japanese four-cylinder in terms of speed. Comparable to racing.
In 2012, in April 2012, according to overseas media reports, Audi Motors officially acquired Ducati, an Italian high-performance motorcycle manufacturer, with an estimated total acquisition amount of US$1.1 billion. Volkswagen Group has previously expressed great interest in Ducati to compete with BMW Group, which owns the motorcycle division.
Audi Chairman Stadler said that Ducati is a world-class motorcycle manufacturer with a long history of manufacturing sports motorcycles. It has great advantages in high-performance engines and lightweight structures. Therefore, it is very suitable for the Audi brand, which also has strong sports genes and efficient technology, to acquire Ducati.
In addition, Volkswagen Chairman Ferdinand Piech has been fond of Ducati for a long time. In April 2008, he made it clear that he wanted to acquire Ducati. Yeshi's 75th birthday, this may be the best birthday gift for this ancient man.