Ducati Motor Holding released its 2018 sales numbers, reporting that 53,004 motorcycles were sold worldwide.

This represents a 5.1-percent decrease over 2017, and the first time Ducati didn’t post positive growth after an eight-year streak. Last year Ducati sold 2,876 more bikes in 2017 compared to 2018.

The news arrived with optimism, though; Ducati broke four years of selling more than 50,000 motorcycles annually, and also took the lead in the superbike segment.

Ducati reports that its Panigale was the world’s best seller in the superbike segment. One in every four superbikes sold worldwide was a Panigale, which made Ducati the leader of the segment for the first time. The Bologna-based company owned a 26-percent market share of all new superbikes sold in 2018.

In 2018 Ducati sold over 9,700 Panigales, which includes the 959 and the V4 – this was a 70-percent increase over its superbike sales in 2017. Ducati says 6,100 of those were Panigale V4 models, Ducati’s first V4 production superbike.

The other success story arrived from the Multistrada family. Overall, 11,829 Multistradas were sold in 2018 – a 25-percent increase over 2017. Ducati attributes the success to the all-new Multistrada 1260; 6,569 of those models were delivered to customers worldwide.

“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”, says 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”, says 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. Needless to say, its 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.”

2018 Ducati Sales Numbers by Country

• In Italy growth proved to be solid, (+4.5%) reaching 9,200 bikes and allowing the country to return to being 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% downturn across the US sector of motorcycles over 500 cc.
• 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.

Credit:ultimatemotorcycling

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