DUCATI Australia invited dealers and VIP customers to a grand reveal of its exhilarating 2024 model range in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane as the red-blooded bike maker continues to push its market presence Down Under. 

GoAutoNews Premium joined the party in Brisbane, alongside a healthy crowd of die-hard ‘Ducatistas’ as they eyed off a range of the brand’s naked, sport and adventure models illuminated by suitable red lighting.

The Italian brand says it is aiming for new models to be released around the same time as they are in Europe and to reinforce the point air freighted the new model into Australia for the range launch.

The four new models were premiered by Ducati product specialist, Nick Selleck, who lifted the curtain on the 2024 Multistrada V4 S Grand Tour, Multistrada V4 RS, DesertX Rally and Hypermotard Mono – a 2024 range that covers all bases for the Bologna-based manufacturer.   The new 659cc ‘Superquadro Mono’ engine revealed in the new Hypermotard Mono, which produces 77.5hp with a red line of 10,250 rpm, is the brand’s first ‘thumper’ in 30 years signalling a return to its single-cylinder roots. 

Ducati also recently debuted its first single-cylinder motocross bike, taking pole position at the Italian Motocross Championship on its first outing before finishing second overall for the weekend, suggesting the single-cylinder is back in a big way. 

Managing director of Ducati Australia, Sergi Canovas, also showed a number of special collaborative models, like the 500-unit Diavel for Bentley – an opulent Batur-themed V4 Diavel finished in Scarab Green. Sadly, all 500 are sold.

Events of this magnitude are new for Ducati, Mr Canovas said after the unveiling, as the bike maker aims to give Australians the same level of early access as Europeans when a new model range arrives.

“This is a new activity we are doing this year,” he said. “Because we are far away from Europe, it takes a bit longer for the bikes to arrive here and sometimes the clients want to see the bike and they want to test it and touch it.

“So we decided to bring them here by air and show them in a very premium environment.”

Managing director of Ducati Australia, Sergi Canovas

Dealer network upgrades

Mark has been proactively overhauling its dealer network in recent years, with a fresh corporate identity and refurbishments to bring the sites up to par with the brand’s premium focus. 

“We managed to bring almost all of our network into adapting to the ‘new Ducati’, refurbishing all of the dealerships with a new corporate identity, bringing new partners more into the premium automotive sector,” Mr Canovas said.

“The first is obviously how you present the brand and this is about the dealership and corporate identity, and the second is how the customer or the client gets the best experience.

“So almost every dealer is refurbished or is now receiving their updated corporate identity and I’m expecting that by the end of 2024 almost 90 per cent of our network will be completely refurbished.”

A new Cairns dealership and service centre is the latest move in Ducati’s expansion into areas otherwise uncharted, made possible by the reach of its parent company Audi Group. 

“The fact that we opened in Cairns is a result of being part of Audi Group, because we can find the synergies,” Mr Canovas said.

“We have these kinds of advantages being part of the group, to be able to expand in areas that normally by ourselves we wouldn’t be able to.”

This follows a recent expansion into regional New South Wales with Albury Wodonga-based Blacklocks Motorcycles, as well as the appointment of new dealer partners Worthington Motorcycles on the Central Coast.

Mr Canovas confirmed there were more dealerships in the works, but could not share the finer details.

“We have some plans, but we are in the first steps now,” he said.

When asked if Ducati’s push into the adventure and motocross segments will lead to more rural dealers, Mr Canovas said the primary focus is on maintaining a premium brand presentation.

“What we are doing is making sure that the brand is represented properly, so we need to make sure that from a dealer point of view it’s an investment that has a return and we will not compromise the presentation of the brand,” he said. 

“Obviously with the arrival of motocross, it’s given us the chance to look into more regional areas.”