Even more ’appy than usual…
It seems rarely a week goes by without Ducati announcing more good news, be that awards they’ve won or sales being up. This month saw them reveal that their turnover grew to a far from shabby €731-million (euros) for 2016, a result up 4.1 per cent compared to the previous year. This was presented at the annual Audi HG press conference, and Ducati also contributed an operating result of €51-million with a margin of 7 per cent to the Audi group. “The continuous evolution of our range, both in terms of quality and technology, the constant development of our dealer network and the effectiveness of a strategy based on investments aimed at the products, the quality and the customers, have enabled the company to continue on its growth curve,” said Ducati bigwig Claudio Domenicali. “This allows us to look to the future with optimism, knowing that we are heading in the right direction.” Fair enough, say we, and indeed since Audi’s takeover the company has gone from strength to strength eschewing the downwards trend over recent years. Permission to feel smug, granted…