ROME, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The head of Italian motorcycle maker Ducati said Wednesday that sales in China were a big part of the company's record-setting third quarter.
The company, which is based in the central Italian city of Bologna, said this week that it had its best third quarter ever this year, selling nearly 15,000 motorcycles in what is normally its slowest economic quarter, despite the worldwide economic slowdown stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.
In a call with reporters on Wednesday, chief executive officer Claudio Domenicali said that strong sales in China, Germany, and Switzerland were enough to offset lower sales in the domestic Italian market and in the United States. Domenicali said that a 40-percent increase in sales in China was a key part of the company's record-setting economic quarter.
In another piece of positive news for Ducati, Domenicali also said the company was starting production of the world's first motorcycle to have radar in front and behind, beating key rivals to breach that technological barrier.
Ducati, which is best known for producing high-end motorcycles, was founded in 1926. The company is owned by Italian sports car maker Lamborghini, which is owned by German carmaker Audi, which is part of Volkswagen, which is Europe's largest carmaker and the second largest in the world, behind only Japanese rival Toyota, according to the market data firm Statista. Enditem
