The emission scandal that seriously damaged the reputation of the Volkswagen group seems to have plunged to from bad to worse. The German company has told banks supplying a 20 billion euro ($21.1 billion) credit line that it would sell assets if it finds no other way of repaying the one-year loan.
"Volkswagen may also consider divest luxury car brands Bentley and Lamborghini or motor bike brand Ducati, although these units don't really move the needle," one of the sources said to the Reuters.
It is noteworthy that among the brands such as the Audi, Bugatti, Porsche, Seat, Skoda, Man, VW etc. under its umbrella, the company has chosen Bentley, Lamborghini and Ducati for the possible sale. These companies are some of the smallest and least valuable due to their niche products and tiny annual production numbers, reports the Road and Track.
At the same time, the Lamborghini is one of the prestigious brands of Volkswagen that competes against another Italian sport car brand, the Ferrari. Losing Lamborghini will be a major blow to the diversity of the brands under VW Group, which became the largest selling car manufacturer at the start of 2015 and lost to Toyota after the emissions scandal in September.
The Bologna, Italy-based Ducati, one of the most well-known motorcycle brands in the world for ultra-fast superbikes and distinctive styling.
The British brand, Bentley, competes in the ultra luxury segment with the Rolls-Royce vehicles. Bentley sold 11,033 vehicles in 2014. To put it into perspective, another British brand, the Jaguar sold 81,570 vehicles in 2014. This clearly says Volkswagen is not bothered about the brand image now and wants to concentrate on coming out of the biggest trouble the company has faced in its history.
