Ducati‘s former owner Investindustrial is ready for its next big acquisition, reportedly submitting a bid to acquire a stake in Aston Martin. Investindustrial is reportedly competing against Indian car and motorcycle maker Mahindra & Mahindra for the stake in the British car company probably best known for its association with the fictional spy James Bond.

According to Bloomberg, Investindustrial has submitted an offer of nearly 250 million British pounds (US$400.7 million) for a 40% equity stake and 50% control of voting rights for Aston Martin. Investindustrial sold its stake in Ducati to Audi earlier this year for  747 million euros (about US$919.1 million, at the time), so it should have the cash to cover its bid for Aston Martin. However, Mahindra & Mahindra, which entered the Indian two-wheeler market in 2008 by acquiring Kinetic Motor Company Limited, reportedly offered more money and is favored to win.

The Investindustrial bid however does have one advantage. It comes with plans to use technology from AMG, the performance arm of Mercedes-Benz. Aston Martin used to be owned by Ford and continues to use Ford engines, but it lost access to a lot of Ford’s resources following the previous sale. The inclusion of AMG technology would help fill that void but it still may not be enough to top Mahindra’s higher bid. Continue Reading »

The Piaggio Group revealed its business plans for the next three years with a focus on developing fuel efficient engines and introducing new electric motors and hybrid powertrains.

Beginning in 2012, Piaggio plans to introduce a new generation of engines with lower emissions and improved fuel economy.

Examples include the new 350cc engine introduced in the Piaggio Beverly SportTouring and the fuel-injected 125cc four-stroke, three-valve engine equipped in the Vespa Quarantasei concept (which the company has apparently, and quietly, renamed as the much easier-to-pronounce Vespa 946).

Moto Guzzi is also introducing a new 750cc 90-degree V-Twin engine in its 2012 V7, V7 Scrambler and V7 Racer. According to Piaggio, the new V7 engine pictured below, after the jump) offers a 10% increase in power output as well as improved torque and fuel economy and fewer emissions.

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Harley-Davidson is closing its cast wheel and hub producing subsidiary New Castalloy, deciding to outsource production to third-party suppliers.

Based in Adelaide, Australia, New Castalloy produces about 1,450 wheels and 500 wheel hubs per day for Harley-Davidson. That work will be transferred to outside suppliers by the middle of 2013.

Harley-Davidson expects to save about $9 million annually by 2014. Closing New Castalloy will however require a cost of about $30 million, including $10 million in 2011 and $20 million in 2012. New Castalloy employs 212 workers, including 29 contract workers.

According to Harley-Davidson, the decision to close New Castalloy is part of a continuing strategy to focus in-house production on metal fabrication for fuel tanks, fenders and frames, powertrain production, final assembly and painting. Everything else can be outsourced to suppliers.

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Yamaha’s board of directors has voted in transfer all shares of its Canadian subsidiary to its American subsidiary, a move which would give Yamaha Motor U.S.A. responsibility over the entire North American market.

The proposed transfer, set to begin in December,  will make Yamaha Motor Canada a subsidiary of its American counterpart. According to Yamaha, the transfer will create a more streamlined management structure for its North American operations.

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