International reports state that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, KTM have followed BMW in pulling out from the two international motorcycle shows.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the automobile industry being affected in several ways. Production, research and development have all come to a halt due to lockdown orders in a majority of the world. Both the European manufacturers have seen a decline in sales due to the pandemic. Dealerships and production factories have been shut down in many of the manufacturers’ key markets including Germany, Italy, France, Spain and the UK.
The Intermot Motorcycle show that takes place in Cologne, Germany is set to take place between 7 and 9 October, while the EICMA in Milan, Italy is scheduled to take place between 5 and 8 November this year. In a report, Hubert Trunkenpolz, KTM AG CMO, was quoted saying “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,”
BMW also made a short announcement saying that their new launches for the year would be carried out via online platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. We already saw the first of their online motorcycle launches a few days ago with the BMW R 18.
KTM also had an online presentation revealing all the details of the KTM 890 Duke R that was displayed at EICMA last year. Due to a majority of activities coming to a halt currently, the manufacturers have also had to stop development of new models; another reason for pulling out from the motorcycle shows.
Many manufacturers are going into losses due to the current pandemic situation, but are still donating generously and helping the cause which is great to see. Using online platforms this year will be an effective technique to launch products as they avoid having to spend huge sums of money to participate in what are very expensive motor shows.
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