BMW Motorrad and KTM AG have withdrawn from global trade shows for the rest of the year including INTERMOT in Cologne, Germany and the EICMA exhibition in Milan, Italy.
Both companies made the decision based on planning uncertainties due to the current COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic.
KTM stating the decision is based on the company’s overall strategy for the rest of this year in the wake of COVID-19 impacting public health, communities, the motorcycle industry and business on a global scale.
Hubert Trunkenpolz, KTM AG CMO has said “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 simply consider moving dates to 2021, where we hope and expect the situation to be settled and back to normal.”
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 has identified its exclusion as a way to contribute towards a safe and strong return to normal activity.
BMW Motorrad echoed this, saying “Due to the hardly foreseeable development of the corona pandemic and its effects, 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.”
INTERMOT in Cologne, Germany and EICMA exhibition in Milan, Italy are still scheduled to take place 6 to 11 October and 5 to 8 November, respectively.