Ducati may be put up for sale by its owners Volkswagen, according to leading news agency Reuters and financial newspaper City AM.

The iconic marque was bought in 2012 by Audi, a VW subsidiary, but now Europe’s largest car maker is looking to streamline its operations following the “Dieselgate” crisis and is reigning in spending in all areas. Thousands of jobs are likely to go as the focus turns to electric vehicles according to CityAM, a normally reliable source, and investment advisers Evercore have been brought in to evaluate all options.

A City source to bikesportnews.com:“It was never quite clear why Audi bought Ducati in the first place other than that it is one of the world’s great brands, it sat quite nicely alongside Audi and Porsche, BMW had a successful motorbike division and the CEO liked bikes. The Scrambler has sold well but sportsbikes in Europe have declined in sales.”

Volkswagen (VW) is reining in spending across the group, including cutting thousands of jobs at its core passenger-car brand, to help pay for a multibillion-euro shift to embrace electric cars and new mobility services.

VW has apparently tasked investment banking boutique Evercore with evaluating options including a sale of the Ducati brand, which its Audi division acquired for about 860 million euros in 2012.

While the Wolfsburg-based firm has started reaching out to potential buyers to sound out interest, no decision has been taken on whether the brand will be sold.