Volkswagen responds to Ducati sale rumours – but doesn't actually deny them

Following reports that Ducati could be among the assets Volkswagen may consider selling, amid cost-cutting measures, the German automotive giant has now responded. But while the statement doesn't go as far as to confirm anything, it also stops well short of ruling out the sale of the Italian marque.

In a statement provided to US publication RideApart, a Volkswagen AG spokesperson said:

"Please understand that we do not comment on internal, confidential documents. The underlying matters will be discussed and approved in the respective committees. We will not pre-empt this process."

That's fairly standard corporate language, and on its own doesn't tell us much. Companies rarely comment on leaked internal documents or board-level discussions before decisions have been made. Where things become more interesting is what follows.

Rather than dismissing the speculation surrounding Ducati, Volkswagen shifts the conversation onto the wider challenges facing the entire Group. According to the spokesperson, Volkswagen's current business model, of building in Europe and shipping worldwide, "no longer works across all brands". It goes on to point to new tariffs, increased competition and weakening global markets that are costing the company "tens of billions of euros per year".

The statement goes on to explain that every part of the Volkswagen Group, including "brands and subsidiaries", must undergo a "profound transformation", with a renewed focus on efficiency, reducing costs and tighter control over investment.

Again, Ducati isn't mentioned by name. But it's not excluded, either.

The significance of this is that if Ducati genuinely wasn't part of any conversations about restructuring, Volkswagen had every opportunity to say so. Instead, it has chosen to speak in broad terms about the Group as a whole while declining to comment on the leaked documents that sparked the latest round of rumours.

That doesn't mean Ducati is heading for the exit door. Far from it. The statement contains no confirmation that the Italian motorcycle manufacturer is being prepared for sale, and it would be wrong to read one into it.

What it does suggest, however, is that every part of the Volkswagen empire is being scrutinised as the company works through what it describes as one of the biggest transformations in its history. Whether that ultimately results in asset sales, including Ducati, remains to be seen.

The full statement from a Volkswagen AG spokesperson, which was published on RideApart, can be found below:

"Please understand that we do not comment on internal, confidential documents. The underlying matters will be discussed and approved in the respective committees. We will not pre-empt this process.

"It is correct that the entire automotive industry and the Volkswagen Group are undergoing a profound transformation. The Executive Board has repeatedly stated that our current business model no longer works across all brands: developing cars in Germany, producing them in Europe and exporting them to the world.

"The world has fundamentally changed in recent years. Over the past twelve months, developments have intensified. New tariffs, harder competition and stagnating – in some cases declining – markets are currently placing burdens on the company reaching tens of billions of euros per year. To remain successful under these conditions, we have to evolve. The entire Group has to become significantly more competitive. That requires a sharper focus as well as stricter discipline over costs and investment. Only in this way can we defend and consolidate our position as one of the world’s leading automotive manufacturers and continue to finance our future by our own means.

"The entire Group – including brands and subsidiaries – have to transform profoundly. To that end, the Executive Board has worked intensively over recent months on a future plan for the realignment of the company. The goal is to make the entire company more efficient and leaner and to capture technological synergy potential consistently. In particular, this applies to decision-making processes and structures – especially in the development and integration of new technologies as well as in the model portfolio for our customers.

"In the next step, this comprehensive transformation is to be implemented following the Supervisory Board’s engagement."

For now, Volkswagen hasn't confirmed the rumours. But equally, it hasn't put them to bed either. That's likely to keep speculation simmering until the Group's future plans are formally approved by its supervisory board.

Find the latest motorcycle news on Visordown