EICMA, Intermot get first OEM withdrawals for 2020

Three European motorcycle brands have announced that they will not be exhibiting at Europe’s two largest international trade shows in 2020 — EICMA in Milan and Intermot in Cologne. BMW, KTM and Husqvarna notified the public over the past few days. Intermot is scheduled for Oct. 7-11, with EICMA being held Nov. 5-8.

Here’s an April 1 press release from BMW Motorrad.

Due to the hardly foreseeable development of the corona pandemic and its effects, Munich-based BMW Motorrad will not be participating in the two leading motorcycle shows Intermot in Cologne in October and EICMA in Milan in November in 2020.

This decision was made in order to counteract current planning uncertainty at an early stage, also for all our partners involved in BMW Motorrad motorshow appearances, in the interests of the greatest possible security, predictability and transparency.

BMW Motorrad will present the world premieres and product highlights planned for these motorcycle shows on alternative platforms in autumn 2020. In doing so, the company will increasingly rely on its own formats and digital communication channels.

KTM and Husqvarna followed that up on Friday, April 3, with their notification, below.

KTM AG have assessed their overall strategy for the rest of 2020 and have decided to make several key decisions in the wake of COVID-19 impacting public health, communities, the motorcycle industry and business on a global scale.

In the best interest of their employees and customers, the company will withdraw from global trade shows for the rest of the year, including INTERMOT in Cologne, Germany and the EICMA exhibition in Milan, Italy.

The proper planning of such events is currently at risk due to the uncertainty surrounding public gathering restrictions in most countries. The annual success of these indoor shows also sees hundreds of thousands of visitors gathering in enclosed spaces for a period lasting days and even weeks. For these reasons, KTM AG have identified their exclusion as way to contribute towards a safe and strong return to normal activity.

Husqvarna Motorcycles will push ahead with current and future projects in order to provide the motorcycling market with exciting and innovative models and look for the best ways to show-off these developments. The KTM AG board of directors wish to communicate that the coming months represent a small squeeze on the brake, but hands are very much poised on the throttle for the rest of 2020.

Hubert Trunkenpolz, KTM AG CMO: “Trade shows are key business milestones for the entire motorcycle industry but given the situation, public health and the welfare of our staff are higher priorities over the coming months. We have taken this course of action with a great deal of thought and, as a company, KTM AG would be pleased and interested if show promoters, EICMA in particular, would consider moving dates to 2021, where we hope and expect the situation to be settled and back to normal.”