BMW Motorrad and KTM have become the first major two-wheeler manufacturers to announce their exit from the 2020 editions of the Intermot and EICMA, two of the biggest motorcycle expos on the planet. Does this spell trouble for these annual motorcycle shows?
The ongoing COVID-19 crisis has taken a big toll on the global automotive industry. From delayed product launches, massive revenue losses to cancelled motor shows, the problems currently being faced by the industry across the globe are massive. While most planned activity for the first half of the year has been postponed or cancelled, the Coronavirus crisis now seems to be having a domino effect on the automotive events that are scheduled to take place in the final quarter of 2020.
Due to the lack of development work done during this time of the year and planning uncertainty, BMW Motorrad became the first major two-wheeler marque to announce its exit from this year's EICMA and Intermot. Now, there are reports that KTM has followed into BMW's footsteps and announced its retirement from all global trade shows for the rest of the year, including EICMA and Intermot.
Seeing that many global automotive giants are currently optimising their limited resources to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that there is great uncertainty regarding the extension of social distancing restrictions in numerous countries, it's likely that more manufactures may make similar announcements in the coming days. If this does happen, both EICMA and Intermot could very well stand cancelled for 2020, much like the Geneva and Detroit motor shows. For now, Intermot is scheduled to take place in Cologne, Germany from 6-11 October 2020, which will be followed by EICMA (Milan, Italy) from 5-8 November 2020.
Both BMW Motorrad and KTM will largely rely on digital means to launch their new upcoming products. Speaking of digital launches, BMW Motorrad is all set for the global premiere of the production version of the R 18 cruiser tonight.
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