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Ducati is the first OEM to brag about its 2021 sales results, and it is quite the brag from the Italian brand – with 59,447 units sold last year.

That sum is an all-time record for Ducati Motor Holding, and marks a 12% gain over the total sales from 2019, and a 24% gain over 2020’s results.

Helping take Ducati to that level was double-digit growth in all of the motorcycle-maker’s key markets, including the United States, where sales were up a staggering 33.5%.

That growth was surely fueled by the Ducati Multistrada V4 adventure bike, which accounted for nearly 1 in 5 Ducati’s sold in 2021.

Big sales growth numbers are going to be all the rage this year, as the motorcycle industry recoups lost sales during the pandemic, and we see a resurgence of people getting outside on two wheels.

So while the headline that Ducati is boasting a 43% increase in sales for the first six months of 2021, compared to the same time period as last year, sounds pretty impressive, the bar is pretty low.

If a motorcycle company doesn’t post double-digit sales figures for Q1 or Q2, now that is something worth talking about.

As predicted, Audi has dropped its Q1 2021 financials report, which means we get a glimpse into Ducati’s first quarter results for the year – and more specifically, which segments in Ducati’s lineup are performing (or not).

As we teased earlier this week, sales are strong for the Italian brand. Ducati is posting a 33% gain over 2020’s dismal numbers, but more importantly, Ducati still managed to show a 2% gain against the first quarter of 2019.

At the end of this week, Audi will release its official Q1 report for investors, which means that on Friday, we will get to see a fairly detailed view of how Ducati Motor Holding has fared in 2021 thus far.

Why wait until the end of the week though? A&R has an advanced look at those numbers now, with the Bologna brand touting a 33% increase in worldwide sales, compared to Q1 2020.

The Ducati Multistrada V4 has been making waves in the adventure-touring space since its debut last month, but for some unlucky owners, that fun is about to come to a stop.

This is because Ducati has found quality issues with the valve guides on some of the V4 Granturismo motors, which could lead to excessive wear and could cause the engine to lose power and ultimately fail at the head.

It was strange to see another press release from Ducati Motor Holding about the 2020 sales year - you would think that the Italian brand would like to forget about the 9.7% sales drop it reported for last year.

Like virtually every other motorcycle brand in the industry, last year was tough on unit sales, though there were some very promising trends later in the season. As such, everyone is trying to spin the events and put their best foot forward - Ducati included.

So while it is at least strange to see the Bologna brand touting its cash flow results for 2020, one can at least understand why they are doing so.

What is more interesting though are some of the tidbits Ducati released in the process, which shows an insight into the company's operations and trends.

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The beancounters are working hard to close the books on 2020, which means we are starting to see our first reports on the total economic situation from last year.

With factory closures, disrupted supply chains, and stay-at-home orders featuring heavily in the first-half of the year, the coronavirus decimated motorcycle sales worldwide.

Then, the second-half of the year saw a huge bump in two-wheel interest, buoyed by economic relief efforts, delayed sales trends, and a renewed interest in the ultimate social-distancing machine.

This makes for a grab bag of perspectives when it comes to motorcycles sales, and nothing could be more true than what Ducati Motor Holding is reporting today.

Ducati cannot seem to escape the constant rumors that Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess is looking to sell the Italian motorcycle brand, as once again rumors about the divesture of Ducati Motor Holding have been circling the internet.

But these rumors, as they have in the past, have been for naught. With the Volkswagen board once again confirming Diess’s role in the company, the position of Ducati in the German house remains secure.

As you can imagine, the coronavirus outbreak has disrupted many plans in the motorcycle industry, especially as the virus comes right during the new-bike launch season. With events canceled left and right, brands are either having to postpone the debut of their new models, or think creatively on how to adapt.

Tomorrow, Asphalt & Rubber gets to see Ducati’s solution to this problem, and you do too, as the Bologna brand is going to live stream to the public the launch of the new Streetfighter V4.

As the spread of the coronavirus continues, motorcycle manufacturers in Europe (especially in Italy) are having to continuously adjust their plans and expectations.

Accordingly, we get news that Ducati Motor Holding will continue to suspend and augment its factory activities through March 25th, pushing back its reopen date as the situation in Italy continues to worsen.

For the Italian brand, the move isn’t a total disruption, as the factory was already slated for closure between March 13th and today, March 18th.

On Tuesday, the Volkswagen Group struck a major deal with its union-back workforce, which will see the German automotive conglomerate begin a new restructuring plan.

The linchpin for the restructuring plan is a €1 billion commitment to make a new battery factory for future electric vehicle models, which will be located in Lower Saxony.

This is important because Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess has been on a mission to slim down the VW Group, but his workforce, more specifically its labor unions, have been resistant to this change, as it would inevitably mean fewer jobs for its labor force.

Now with a substantial commitment to create jobs in the battery cell production space, VW’s labor unions are more amenable to the idea of trimming VW’s non-core businesses, which has some big implications.