Speaking of Italian motorcycles, Harley-Davidson is buying MV Agusta. Like just about every Italian motorcycle and scooter marque, MV Agusta has changed hands several times since the ’80s. (Thanks to PSF Steve for the link.)
3 thoughts on “H-D buys MV”
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Return of the Aermacchi?
Yeah! I forgot about H-D/Aermacchi.
This is probably obvious, but this seems to be an attempt to get H-D into the “upscale european” market, probably a smart move because it fills a big hole in their product line and they can probably muscle some dealers into ditching Ducati or Guzzi, or competing with smaller Guzzi/Ducati dealers in some markets. On the other hand, their commitment to Buell always seems like an afterthought, and I can see the same thing happening here. Maybe they’re better off sticking to what they do best (which, of course, is licensing H-D-branded tchotchki).
I doubt it will mean anything in terms of each brand. HD is a large corp that can benefit from economies of scale. They are run by smart people and have a duty to shareholders. It must make sense on some economic level, but I can’t imagine some tie up between the two brands. The brands are what define the two icons. It’s one thing to buy a defunct name and another to buy a functioning, even poorly, company. I doubt it’s any sort of technology transfer that will benefit HD.