The new boss of the world’s largest volume automobile manufacturer, Volkswagen AG, which includes Ducati among its several high-profile brands, is a passionate motorcyclist who played a key role in transforming the fortunes of BMW Motorrad.
The man who turned BMW Motorrad into the highly profitable entity it is today during his four-year stint in charge of the company is taking hold of the reins at Volkswagen. And that company owns Ducati.
We’re talking about Dr Herbert Diess, 59, who on April 12 was officially announced as being the new chairman of the board of management of Volkswagen AG, with immediate effect. As such, he will have overall responsibility for the future direction of Ducati, VAG’s motorcycle brand which it currently holds since buying it in 2012 while Diess was still at BMW. And for Ducati fans, this is a good bit of news because Diess is a lifelong bike rider, and a native of BMW’s home city of Munich.
After a brief stint in academic research, he joined Stuttgart-based industry supplier Robert Bosch AG in 1989. From there, he was recruited by BMW in 1996 to head up their structural planning division, and was then dispatched to the UK in 1999 to join the turnaround team charged with transforming the company’s ailing Rover subsidiary. There, while continuing to clock up the miles exploring Britain at weekends and holidays on his personal R1100RT boxer motorcycle, Diess was put in charge of putting the new Mini into production at Rover’s Oxford plant. As a reward for his contribution to the huge commercial success of the Mini, he was promoted in February 2003 to become president of BMW’s motorcycle division, whose elderly customer base for its then-lacklustre range of models was literally dying away.
Esta historia es de la edición August 2018 de Motorcycle Sport & Leisure.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición August 2018 de Motorcycle Sport & Leisure.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Honda CRF1100L ES Africa Twin
Without panniers he was adventuring nowhere - so at least Bertie's got something sorted now
BMW R 12 nineT
Chad gets a track day surprise when BMW's R 12 nineT turns out to be surprisingly fun on track
Test fleet: VOGE 525 DSX
After testing the Voge's abilities on a long ride, it was time to take it to the Cotswolds and see how it would manage on the rougher stuff
Portuguese Perambulations
Nearly over before it had begun, a brief workshop stint allows Spain and Portugal to be explored
Highway to Heaven
Three friends take on the challenge of riding the length of Canada, from Vancouver in the southwest to Inuvik in the north. The road is long, the conditions merciless, and wildfires are tearing through the country. To top it all off, the final leg of the journey is the ultimate test of gravel riding skills, nerves, and courage - it's the legendary Dempster Highway...
Battlaxes at the ready!
We tend to take tyres for granted, never really looking at them in any detail, or at how they work, just hoping that they keep us shiny side up at all times. Even in the wet
Ducati Riding Experience
When I rode the Ducati DesertX to France last year, I did have a bit of an explore on some easy fire roads and gentle green lanes in the wilds of the Médoc area, but was left with the feeling that, had I the experience, the DesertX would have been capable of taking me along some more extreme trails to some even more exciting places. If only there was a way of finding out just how well the Italian adventure bike could cope with some more extreme terrain...
Four pot flyer
Many said that sports bikes, and particularly bikes in the traditional Supersports class that was populated by 600cc inline fours, were dead. Maybe they spoke too soon?...
Eastern adventurer
With an increasing interest in smaller capacity adventure bikes, the market expands with a new entry
First Time Lucky?
It's ironic that the first all-new MV Agusta model to hit the marketplace right after Italy's No.1 trophy brand was acquired by Austrian giant Pierer Mobility, owner of off-road titans KTM, should be the company's first dual-purpose model of the modern era, powered by MV's all-new 931cc three-cylinder engine that's destined to form the basis of a whole series of new models in coming months and years.
