Scrambler drives record Ducati sales

Proof annoying marketing works

WE'VE derided Ducati's hipster-style campaign for the Scrambler on Visordown. We clearly don't much about marketing - the new model is driving record sales for the firm.

In April Ducati delivered 7,309 new bikes to customers – a figure that represents a massive 29% increase year-on-year and sets an all-time record for the firm.

It also shows 10% growth since the start of the year, and shows the firm’s strategy with the Scrambler is a winner, with that model proving the most popular Ducati in Italy, where overall sales were up an incredible 69%.

The firm has a microsite dedicated to the Scrambler. 

The Ducati's previous record month was May 2012, when it delivered 6,500 bikes.

The figures for April are likely to be artificially high thanks to the availability of long-awaited new models, particularly the Scrambler, which has been being plugged for months, as well as the Panigale 1299 and the new Multistrada 1200, but there’s no arguing that the number aren’t impressive.

The Scrambler isn’t just Ducati’s best seller. In Italy during April it was the best-selling motorcycle of all. For the full year so far, it sits third in the country’s sales charts on 935 bikes delivered, trailing only the Yamaha MT-09 Tracer (1,203 sold) and the inevitably BMW R1200GS (1,302 sales). Honda’s NC750X sits in fourth, followed by the BMW R1200GS Adventure in fifth place. Ducati’s next best seller in its home country is the Multistrada, in eighth spot with 428 sold this year, fewer than half the sales of the Scrambler.

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