Ducati reports record sales in third quarter

Oct 20, 2021

Ducati reported record sales during the third quarter of 2021. Not surprisingly, given the huge swings during 2020, there were some interesting statistics to cite, but the most relevant news is that the company is on track to surpass its sales in the last "normal" year of 2019.

Of course 2020 saw sales fall off a cliff in March and then rebound sharply in the second half of the year. As a result, Ducati's sales in the third quarter of 2021 were just three percent higher than that quarter in 2020, when things were bouncing back, but were a significant 25 percent higher than Q3 in 2019.

Francesco Milicia, Ducati VP Global Sales and After Sales. Ducati photo.

Overall, Ducati reported delivering 49,693 motorcycles to consumers in the first nine months of 2021, which is more than it sold in all of the tumultuous year of 2020. More tellingly, sales are on pace to surpass 2019, too, when Ducati sold 53,183 motorcycles to consumers.

It probably should not be surprising that one of the motorcycle industry's premium brands is doing well. One phenomenon we've seen worldwide as a result of the pandemic and the fiscal and monetary policies used to combat it has been a widening wealth inequality. Asset prices are inflated, which makes the rich richer, and apparently some of them are buying Multistradas with the windfall.

"The growth we are experiencing is practically widespread on all the main markets in which Ducati is present and extends across the product families," said Ducati Vice President for Global Sales and After Sales Francesco Milicia. "The brand is now more solid and appreciated than ever."

Ducati Multistrada V4 on the road — The Multistrada V4 has been Ducati's best seller all year long. Ducati photo.

Ducati: Where and what they're selling

Ducati's largest single market remains its home country, with 7,954 motorcycles delivered so far this year. The United States remains in second place. Interestingly, the trend of declining sales in the United States may have stopped. Ducati has already delivered 7,475 motorcycles this year in the U.S. market, nearly as many as it did in all of 2019, when it sold 7,682. Germany remains in third place with 5,627 motorcycles sold so far in 2021.

Some of the significant growth is happening in markets that you might not normally think of as fertile ground for Ducati. For example, the brand now sells about half as many motorcycles in China as it does in the United States and sales in China are growing.

While Ducati reported sales growth in all its lines of motorcycles, as well as accessories and parts, sales in 2021 have been led by Multistrada V4 models. Next were the Ducati Scrambler 800 models, then the Streetfighter V4 and Monsters.

Ducati has begun rolling out its new models for 2022, unveiling new entries in virtual presentations every two weeks.