Ducati introduces new Desmo 450 variants at the VW Indaba event:
Volkswagen is big. Really big.
The factory in the Nelson Mandela Bay area, one of many, is the size of a small town. It employs 3,500 people and produces Polos for nearly the entire world. It’s run by Volkswagen Group Africa, and it is under its leadership that Ducati in South Africa now operates. That means the Italian brand now has more support behind it in South Africa than ever before, which is an encouraging thought for SA’s Ducatisti.
Donovan Fourie tells the story:
Towards the beginning of each year, VWGA hosts an event called the Indaba (meaning “discussion”) where it invites press and personalities from all over the country, has a little chinwag and presents the latest happenings within its organisation. This year, the event took place on the VW test track next to the main factory, with a giant marquee, display tents and a grandstand set up on the main straight of the track.
Each of the various parts and departments of VWGA gave updates, and this included Ducati.
Which from 2025 now falls under the VWGA umbrella.
During the business presentations in the main marquee, Ducati Brand Manager Tertius Cronje and Marketing and PR Manager Mark Walters updated the crowd about 2025 — which was more a year of integration as VWGA took over from the previous importer.
The brand kept its Centurion dealership while opening a Western Cape dealership in Claremont in July.
In around March of 2026, a new Johannesburg dealer will open in partnership with Race SA under the leadership of Marco Casciani. The dealership will be a stand-alone Ducati dealership with premises in Sandton.
Ducati also plans to expand its dealership network to all the major centres in South Africa, including KZN, East London, Port Elizabeth and — going slightly further afield — Windhoek, Namibia.
For 2026, Ducati will see select customers receive the special Lamborghini version of the Panigale superbike, as well as the introduction of the new Panigale V4R and the expansion of the new V2 range to include the DesertX.
The event then moved outside, where a grandstand had been erected in front of the main straight for the latest product unveiling. For the Ducati section, King of the Whip competitor Dalton Venter rode into the spotlight on his Desmo 450 MX bike that was used for King Of The Whip. Michael Schlabitz, Ducati’s Head of Off-road from the Bologna factory, gave some insights into the background of Ducati’s first foray into the world of off-road machines, and finished by announcing that Ducati will be the title sponsor for the King of the Whip competition in 2026.
Tertius and Mark then took the stage again, debuting two new variants of the Desmo 450 — the Desmo 450 EDX and the Desmo 450 MX Factory.
The EDX is the enduro-cross/cross-country version, featuring a larger fuel tank, an 18-inch rear wheel, re-tuned suspension better suited to off-road riding, plus hand guards, a bash plate and side stand as standard.
The Desmo 450 MX Factory is the more highly specced version of the base MX, with an Akrapovič exhaust, billet Ergal steering plates for better stiffness and lower weight, Showa suspension with Dark Kashima and TiO coating, a holeshot device, uprated Brembo/Galfer brakes with a disc protector, an engine guard, and a Ducati Com-Link Wi-Fi module that allows the rider to set up the electronics via a phone app.
The Desmo 450 models are expected to arrive in showrooms towards the end of February or early March.
