Talking to the Varese News, MV Agusta Executive Vice President Giorgio Girelli let slip a number of interesting tidbits about the Italian company — the biggest news of course concerns another company, Cagiva.
Acknowledging the circulating rumors about the revival of the historic brand, Girelli was quick to point out that it’s not in the company’s current plan, but that the possibility was certainly there.
Going further about the idea, Girelli suggested that Cagiva would make the most sense as a purely off-road brand, which would compliment MV Agusta’s pure on-road offerings.
MV Agusta’s current strategic plan calls for the company to produce 20,000 units, with a focus on growing outside of Italy, namely in Western Europe and in North America. For reference, MV Agusta forecasts roughly 12,000 units for 2015.
The 20,000 unit figure is an important one, as it typically represents the vehicle volume to ensure the stability and success of an international motorcycle brand. Adding in volume from Cagiva, especially in the off-road segment would then be icing on the cake for MV Agusta and the company’s coffers.
It’s not surprising to read Girelli’s words though. MV Agusta has a lot of work ahead of it before the Italian company can start thinking about distractions like Cagiva.
One could argue that the company’s rush into World Superbike was one such distraction that could have been better left alone.
It’s hard enough to get fans to see Leon Camier in 16th in the under-watched WSBK Championship, which means the high-point of MV Agusta’s racing efforts comes from the considerably less popular World Supersport Champoinship, where Jules Cluzel is securely in second place.
That being said, MV Agusta has made considerable progress the past few years, and it shows in the maturity of their products.
Just recently I was on the MV Agusta Turismo Veloce 800 launch (yes I know, I’m woefully behind getting the review out), but the big spoiler alert is that the motorcycle is actually put together quite well — including the electronics.
The short-version is that my more “career-focused” moto-journliast friends can finally stop tip-toing around the fact that MV Agusta’s offerings have had glaring issues in the past, namely with their electronics. The long-version shows that things at Varese are constantly improving.
Even my cynical heart is starting to warm-up to the Italian brand. At the time of its acquisition from Harley-Davidson, I mentally started the death clock on the Italian brand now, I wonder when MV Agusta will bring a dealership to my new-found-home of Oregon.
All of this news and conjecture probably isn’t the best case scenario for hardcore Cagiva fans; but on the bright side, at least it shows that MV Agusta has their eyes on the prize and isn’t getting distracted by other projects…and that’s a good thing.
Source: Varese News
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