Italy 2008 DUCATI

Ducati is an Italian motorcycle manufacturing company headquartered in Bologna, Italy. The company is directly owned by Italian automotive manufacturer Lamborghini, whose German parent company is Audi, itself owned by the Volkswagen Group.

Three brothers in Bologna, Italy, were the founders of the Società Scientifica Radio Brevetti Ducati: Adriano, Bruno and Marcello Ducati, along with their father Antonio. The company began as a manufacturer of radio components because of Adriano’s experiments with burgeoning radio technology. The Ducatis were very successful throughout the 1930s in this field, but World War II halted production when the Germans occupied the Ducati factory in 1943. The brothers had hidden many of their machines, but this was to little avail, since Allied bombing destroyed their plant in Borgo Panigale in October of 1944.

This event forced the three brothers to rethink their strategy while beset by financial problems stemming from the war and loss of income, resulting in their company being taken over by the Italian government. After a gift of twelve trucks from the Allies bestowed upon them by Bologna mayor Giuseppe Dozza, the brothers decided to diversify their production since the delicate and intricate radio and electronic parts they produced before were too complex. Thus, the company began to make four-stroke engines and then they saw the production of their first motorcycle in 1945. This bike, called the Cucciolo, was a true innovation, designed by Aldo Farinelli during the war. Farinelli mounted a propulsion motor on a bicycle, but the company he worked with, SIATA, couldn’t handle demand for the bike.

Ducati stepped in as the manufacturer of the Cucciolo, which became very successful upon its release in 1946. In July 1949, Ducati manufactured the first complete motorcycle, the Ducati 60. These successes cemented Ducati as a motorcycle manufacturer, and the motorcycle division split off in 1954, called Ducati Meccanica SpA. The brothers owned Ducati until 1948, when hardship forced them to cede their company to the Italian government, after which the company was transferred several times.

Since 1926, Ducati has been owned by a number of groups and companies.

• 1926–1950 – Ducati family
• 1950–1967 – Government Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale (IRI) management
• 1967–1978 – Government EFIM management (control over day-to-day factory operations)
  • 1967–1973 – Headed By Giuseppe Montano
  • 1973–1978 – Headed by Cristiano de Eccher
• 1978–1985 – VM Group
• 1985–1996 – Cagiva Group
• 1996–2005 – Texas-Pacific Group (US-based) ownership and going public
  • Headed by CEO Federico Minoli, 1996–2001; returning for 2003–2007
• 2005–2008 – Investindustrial Holdings S.p.A.
• 2008–2012 – Performance Motorcycles S.p.A.

An investment vehicle formed by Investindustrial Holdings, BS Investimenti and Hospitals of Ontario Pension Plan

• 19 July 2012 – present – Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A.

AUDI AG acquired 100% of the voting rights of Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. via Audi's Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. subsidiary