VW CEO Diess Says Ducati Unit Needs a Partner

Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess says the company’s Ducati motorcycle unit is “not sufficient” on its own and needs an alliance partner or merger with a second brand.

Diess, who took over as CEO in April, tells Handelsblatt that Ducati lacks synergy with VW’s carmaking operations. Analysts have said the high-end brand, which was acquired in 2012, has no strategic value for the carmaker.

VW bought Ducati for €860 million ($1.1 billion) because of a personal interest by then-VW Chairman Ferdinand Piech. He left the company three years ago.

VW began shopping the high-end brand more than a year ago. Estimates at the time put Ducati’s market value at €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion). But the auction, which reportedly attracted five bidders, was shelved in October after resistance from German trade unions.