Ducati's Domenicali discusses new 899 Panigale

Domenicali explained the new 899 Panigale in detail to the assembled press, identifying it as the first step in Ducati's plans to produce more 'accessible' (read: cheaper) motorcycles for world markets.

"The 899 Panigale is a prime example of the technological excellence that has traditionally characterised our motorcycles. It is the reward of what we call 'performance redefined', a modern, innovative sports motorcycle which uses ground-breaking technology to ingeniously adjust to everyday use. User-friendly, safety-enhanced, and great fun at the same time," Domenicali said.

"A motorcycle as thrilling as only a true Ducati can be. This important concept will carry on into our future production and also our range expansion plans, focusing on the concept of performance that we intend to extend upwards to create even more sophisticated, race-derived models, and downwards to cater for the market of 'easier' and more accessible models."

Following its Borgo Panigale presentation, the 899 Panigale will also go on show at this weeken's San Marino MotoGP round.

One year on from the Audi Group acquisition of Ducati, Domenciali also provided the first official overview of the progress achieved by the company under Audi ownership in a challenging and delicate European motorcycle market.

"My professional career began here at Ducati 22 years ago and finding myself at the helm of the company today makes me immensely proud, but also aware of the huge responsibility that comes with this position," said Claudio Domenicali on meeting the press.

"Audi is a stakeholder who wishes to be involved in the technical development of the company and to focus its efforts on product development. Now, a year after the acquisition, it is time to take stock of the initial results and look to the future with a positive and proactive attitude.

"Ducati achieved record sales in 2011 and again in 2012 when over 44,000 motorcycles were delivered to customers. Despite the current market dip, Ducati have almost equalled those sales for the first six months of 2013 and, with the introduction of new models in the second half of the year, we are expecting positive results.

"The new Hyperstrada became available in showrooms from early June while the 899 Panigale will become available this October. In addition to this, positive sales trends are being recorded in emerging markets, such as 66% growth in Thailand, a country where we were not even present three years ago and where we expect to deliver approximately 2,500 motorcycles this year.

"In Brazil, where we only started to sell motorcycles this year, we are now averaging 100 deliveries to customers per month and in China sales are up 75% on 2012. With 90% of our production now being exported, the US has firmly taken over from Italy as our top market, leading us to believe that our growth trend will continue throughout 2014, repeating the highly positive bottom line figures that we achieved in the past few years."