Ducati Posts Record Month
Ducati, the Bologna-based builder of personality-laden sporbikes, has posted a record month of sales that exceeds its previous record set in May, 2007, according to a recent press release.
"The [Monster] 696 demand outpaced our supply for the month otherwise the new record of 1410 units would have been higher!" exclaims Ducati's North American Sales Manager Jason Chinnock. Coincidentally, I picked up a Monster 696 a couple of days ago, and while it's a bit premature for my final verdict (or a full review), the bike is certainly a shoe-in for the upcoming Ten Great Advanced Beginner Bikes list.
We're still waiting for Harley's 2nd quarter earning statement, but it's refreshing to know that another storied manufacturer can thrive in the face of a trying economy.
Here's some related Ducati reading/viewing:
- Full Review: Ducati 1098S
- Photo Gallery: Ducati 1098S
- Quick Review: Ducati 848
- Photo Gallery: Ducati 848
- Photo Gallery: Ducati 696
Click for photo gallery of the Ducati 848
Comments
Hey Basem! It is good to see Ducati making some headway! BTW is there any way we can find out how many other companies sell? I know Harley and Honda are always on top but I have wondered where the others stand in the US market. Seems like the numbers are never posted for motorcycles sells unlike automotive sells.
Motorcycles are less a commodity than automobiles but the information is out there.
Unless you are a member of the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) or affiliated in some way with motorcycle or business media, the information seems hard to come by.
http://www.mic.org
Hey Zoom,
TEVo’s on the money; it’s hard to track motorcycle sales.
Motorcycle Consumer News used to publish sales figures (purportedly from a “mole” within the industry), but that secret source dried up and they no longer post the numbers.
All major manufacturers are publicly traded and disclose their production numbers (Harley-Davidson, for instance, recently stated they were cutting down their 2008 production by 23,000-27,000 bikes, for a total production run between 303,500 and 307,500.) Of course, it would be easier to look at all of these numbers against each other.
Basem