Ducati expands into off-road motorcycles with a premium twist. Is it a formula for a spin-off?

Italy’s Ducati, in a move to expand its customer base, is taking its luxury brand into the business of off-road biking with the Desmo450 and Desmo250 line of motorcycles.

“I grew up riding dirt bikes when I was a kid,” Jason Chinnock, Ducati North America CEO, told Yahoo Finance. “When we were looking at how we expand the Ducati brand … we saw this as an opportunity to bring a lot of the expertise that we know from a professional and racing level to the market, but in a package that actually reaches out to a whole new group of people.”

Ducati, which is owned by Volkswagen (VOW3.DE), has a simple recipe with the Desmo450 MX: a motocross style of bike (or dirt bike), but add the best race components. Plus, a trick 1-cylinder engine coupled with Ducati’s high-performance Desmo valve system.

This being Ducati, the bikes aren’t cheap, with a starting price of $11,495, a 20% or more premium compared to other competitors. But that’s almost considered entry level for the brand; a top-of-the-line Panigale V4 R hits an eye-watering $50,000.

Chinnock believes most Americans get their start on dirt bikes (not on the open road with Harleys), and the new line of motocross bikes harkens back to most buyers’ riding past. The goal: bring more riders into the Ducati universe.

Ducati has been expanding, with 12 new bikes coming out in the near future. It’s a big change from a company that has recently had a much simpler product line.

The big question is how to do this without diluting Ducati’s hard-earned cachet as an exotic name in the space.

“We actually always respect our core values, which are style, sophistication, and performance. And we also stick true to our mission, “ Chinnock said. “You know, this is not transportation. This is entertainment. This is what we do with our free time and fun.”

Unlike other mainstream brands, like Honda and Kawasaki, Ducati owners don’t really need their bikes to get from point A to point B. They are nice to have, and they’re fun, but Ducati bikes are discretionary purchases.

And, for the company, profitable.

Ducati’s financials boomed during the pandemic, but profitability has trailed off a bit since then.

Sales soared in 2021 and 2022 but dipped in 2023 and 2024. Revenues topped 1 billion euros ($1.16 billion) for the third straight year in 2024, but company profitability (a measure of margin) dipped to 9.1% from 10.5% in 2023. Rising costs were the main culprit.

“I was just looking at the data this morning, and we see the motorcycle business [in Ducati’s segment] is down about 3%. The good thing for us is because we position ourselves as kind of this ultra-premium brand, we’re a little less susceptible to, let’s say, the changes that happen and fluctuations in the market,” Chinnock said. “So this year we’ve actually gained both market share and volume.”