Who Owns Ducati Motorcycles And Where Are They Made?

In the moto racing realm, the Ducati name has become one of the most revered in history. That's in no small part because motorcycles bearing the Ducati name have long been regarded among the fastest and most powerful in the world. However, the brand also makes a line of consumer bikes capable of putting raceway power in the hands of any rider ready to burn up some asphalt.

While Ducatis are sold to speed-seeking Ducatistas in virtually all corners of the globe, the company is, and ever will be, an Italian brand. If you're unfamiliar with the bike-maker's storied history, Ducati came into being almost 100 years ago, though in the company's earliest days, it was primarily known for manufacturing short-wave transmitters and capacitors. Ducati didn't go all-in on motorcycles until after World War II. It wasn't long until the need for speed seized the motorcycle-loving masses, and the Italian manufacturer has proven more than capable of providing souped-up builds for riders of both raceways and freeways in the decades since.

These days, however, Ducati isn't quite the family affair it once was. In fact, the Ducati family no longer owns the company bearing its name, which has been a part of the Volkswagen Portfolio since a 2012 acquisition. That portfolio is controlled by Audi, making the German company the current owner of the Ducati brand.

While Ducati is no longer owned by the family who gave it its name, a case could easily be made that the brand itself is as Italian as it has ever been. So much so that the almost prohibitively expensive motorcycles that bear the Ducati nameplate are still manufactured in the city in which it first began making transmitters: Bologna, Italy. More precisely, most of Ducati's supremely stylish builds have rolled off the production line in the company's facility located in Bologna's Borgo Panigale industrial district. 

Those bikes are not, however, manufactured in the exact same facility, as it was destroyed during an Allied bombing campaign in 1944. The Ducati family rebuilt at the end of World War II, and, after pivoting to motorcycles, has continued to build them there ever since, each proudly bearing the "Made in Italy" label. As it happens, those bikes are largely made by hand in the Bologna factory via a workforce of approximately 2,000 Italian men and women.

That Borgo Panigale plant is not the only one in the world where Ducati motorcycles are put together. These days, the Italian shingle also hangs over a plant located in Bangkok, Thailand. The company also produces bikes at a facility in Manaus, Brazil, and, in 2022, also began assembling its celebrated Scrambler build at a manufacturing plant in Brazil. Despite the global structure, Ducati motorcycles are still only assembled using parts made by hand in Italy.