Ducati To Launch Electric Motorcycles & Scooters By 2021

The news of the Italian marque's plans to add electric motorcycles and scooters to its range was confirmed to French website Moto-Station by Edouard Lotthe, managing director of Ducati Western Europe during an interview at EICMA 2017 in Milan earlier this month.

While Lotthe confirmed that Ducati, which is part of the Volkswagen Group, does have plans to go electric and enter the world of scooters, he stated that the plans would only happen after 2020.

This is due to the fact that new and stricter Euro 5 emission norms that come into effect in 2020 for two-wheelers across Europe. Lotthe stated that Ducati is committed to getting its entire range of motorcycles including the air-cooled Scrambler range in compliance with the new norms when they come into effect despite the need for substantial investment.

Ducati's plans to go electric is due to the Volkswagen Group's push towards electrifying its entire range by 2030 as it looks to put the destructive memories of the Dieselgate emissions scandal behind it.

The VW group had considered selling off Ducati to the highest bidder with India's Royal Enfield among those interested. However, the automotive conglomerate revised its outlook a few months later and decided to keep Ducati under the control of Audi via its subsidiary Lamborghini as it has been since it was taken over in 2012.

DriveSpark Thinks!
Ducati's plans to go electric doesn't come as much of a surprise due to the fact it is part of the Volkswagen group which had a black spot attached to it thanks to the Dieselgate scandal. With the VW group looking to go fully electric, it comes as no surprise that Ducati is marching to the beat of its Germanic owners.

The decision to enter the scooter market is more surprising and is something we're looking forward to unlike a future of silent Italian superbikes.