ASG will open a Ducati showroom in Sydney’s Alexandria in January, the same month as the Preston Motor Group’s Ducati Melbourne West will open in Melbourne’s Essendon Fields. 

The new Sydney Ducati outlet will be within ASG’s O’Riordan Street facility that also houses its Rolls-Royce, McLaren, Aston Martin and Peugeot-Citroen franchises.

Having the Volkswagen Group-owned Ducati as a franchise also further ties ASG in with the Volkswagen family. ASG also has franchises from other VW group partners Audi, Lamborghini and Volkswagen.

The new Ducati showroom will showcase the entire Ducati and Ducati Scrambler motorcycle range and, within the facility’s two storeys, will also have the complete range of apparel and accessories, after sales services and factory-trained technical personnel.

ASG CEO and managing director Nick Pagent said the company was “delighted to add Ducati to its long list of premium and performance brands” and said ASG would deliver “a whole new customer experience”.

Ducati Australia and New Zealand managing director Sergi Canovas said that with ASG’s experience with the Volkswagen Group “we are confident that it will deliver a Ducati experience that meets our global benchmarks and exceeds customer expectation”.

Mr Canovas told GoAutoNews Premium that the business’ core focus was “to provide our customers with a premium customer experience and increased customer satisfaction across Australia.

“Our new partnerships with Preston Motors Group and Autosports Group ensures that our customers will be supported by their experience and expertise in the car industry,” he said.

“Our strategy is to work with our entire dealer network both existing and new that includes both motorcycle and car dealerships, in order to deliver a network across Australia and New Zealand that represents the core values of Ducati and reflects the global dealer family.”

In Melbourne, Preston Motor Group (PMG) will open its Ducati dealership in January, down the road from its Polaris showroom in Wirraway Road, Essendon Fields.

In a similar relationship with the Volkswagen Group, PMG has two Porsche showrooms.

PMG CEO Robert Gattereder said: “We are excited to add another premium and prestige brand to our stable and look forward to exceeding customer expectations. 

“As a passionate motorcyclist, I am thrilled to introduce motorcycles to our organisation and I very much look forward to enjoying the passion that exists within the Ducati family and community.

“Our aim is to make it a flagship site in Victoria and a destination for Ducati.”

Ducati now distributes its motorcycles in Australia and New Zealand after last year taking back the agency from independent business NF Importers who had represented the brand for 55 years.

Ducati motorcycles and its accessories and technical and lifestyle apparel are distributed in 90 countries. In 2019 Ducati delivered 53,183 bikes to customers, consolidating its sales over the 50,000-bike threshold for the fifth year running.

By Neil Dowling