Could Harley-Davidson and Ducati be thinking of a merger? That's been the speculation in financial circles in recent months, and the Italian firm's Chief Financial Offcier, Enrico D'Onofrio, will not rule out the possibility.
The Financial Times online recently reported: A merger with Harley-Davidson would be "totally complementary", he said, responding to speculation in the market that the two firms had been in talks. And while he declined to comment on the speculation, he did say that the two companies are similar in that they create recreational bikes that consumers fantasize about. "People want to buy a dream." Harley-Davidson has an older consumer profile, with an average age of 55, while Ducati owners are about 35, on average. Half of all Ducati owners in the US also own a Harley, D'Onofrio added.
The Financial Times goes on to say that such a merger would be particularly useful for Ducati, because of the much greater buying power the combined organisation would have.
Piaggio has also been seen as a potential suitor, though D'Onofrio says H-D is a better fit.
Nothing will happen in the immediate future, however. Ducati says it needs up to three years to fulfil its current ambitions, which include a further lift in quality (it has brought a former senior Toyota exec on board to achieve this) and raise its 2006 production of 32,000 bikes to 50,000.