Indoor motorcycle shows are big business in the winter months, as manufacturers spend massive budgets to show off their latest wares. This year is meant to see the biennial INTERMOT show take place in Cologne, Germany, before the spotlight shines on Milan’s EICMA and Motorcycle Live in Birmingham in November. However, the Coronavirus pandemic has thrown these events into doubt and, even if they do go ahead, they are unlikely to be as grand as in previous years.

There have been some recent high-profile announcements by major manufacturers explaining why they are withdrawing from attending the major international motorcycle shows following the Coronavirus crisis.

These international shows are used by most bike firms to show off new bikes for the first time to media and to customers too, and they spend big money to stand out from the competition.

BMW and KTM have both officially confirmed they will not be attending either the Cologne or Milan motorcycle shows in 2020 and it’s highly likely other bike companies will make the same decisions in the weeks and months to come.

For BMW Motorrad to withdraw from its home show in Germany is a massive decision to make, as the home market remains BMW’s biggest sales territory and there are always new models revealed for the first time to the home crowd.

Reasons for the withdrawal are explained by the inability to make long-term plans at the moment. The unpredictability of the ending of Coronavirus pandemic, restrictions to the movement of people, along with protecting staff members’ health means BMW and KTM have made early choices not to attend.

BMW’s statement reads: “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.

“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.”

BMW recently launched the completely new R18 large-capacity cruiser in a completely online show so the format for the launches that we will see later in 2020 has already been trialled.

KTM boss Hubert Trunkelpolz added: “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 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.”

One of the biggest issues for manufacturers is going to be saving money after weeks and months of having to close dealerships, workshops and factories around the world in order to assist in the fight against Coronavirus.

All of this is going to cause an enormous drop in revenues for the companies and they are going to have to make savings somewhere. There are also some doubts as to whether or not new, 2021 model, bikes which are currently under development will be able to be completed in time to be revealed in the fourth quarter of this year. Ordinarily manufacturers will currently be busy finalising testing, homologation and tooling for its 2021 models around now, as well as producing marketing materials, but this is likely to be on hold, or at least delayed due to the current restrictions in place around the world.

Motorcycle shows are hugely expensive to attend for manufacturers. The logistics of getting the bikes there is just one expensive part of a massively expensive overall cost. Paying staff, designing and building stands, paying to exhibit, taking the stands down, staff accommodation and food make them one of the biggest costs of the year.

They are also one of the easiest to cut as not attending stops all costs immediately. There are no linked costs to not attending.

This story is the most accurate picture we could present in mid-April. It’s sure to be updated as the year progresses and Insidebikes will ensure this story is updated as we learn more.

What does this mean for Motorcycle Live in the UK in 2020?

The biggest motorcycle show in the UK is Motorcycle Live – at the moment this is scheduled to run from November 16 to 24 and planning is still forging ahead despite the uncertainty.

Show boss Finlay McAllan told Insidebikes: “Much can and will happen between now and November, and while we are in dialogue with the NEC, contractors and suppliers for Motorcycle Live, we appreciate the cloud of uncertainty is casting a shadow of doubt for many, and to that end we’ve been in touch with all our clients to extend some reassurance on where we are on this issue.

“Rightly or wrongly, we remain positive that Motorcycle Live will go ahead as planned in November, and are therefore pushing ahead with our preparations.”

The Motorcycle Live event is paid for and backed by the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA) which is the UK motorcycle trade body. While manufacturers get their stand space providing by virtue of paying their membership dues, the other overheads attached to attending are large and still have to be met by the bike firms and other exhibitors.

It remains to be seen what’s going to happen in the remaining six months before the show. It’s likely decisions will have to be made in a reasonably short time.

What happens next?

While smaller, consumer focussed events like Motorcycle Live and the Carole Nash MCN London Motorcycle Show provide a great day out for motorcyclists in the winter months, it will be interesting to see what happens to the mega INTERMOT and EICMA trade shows in coming years, where manufacturers have historically spent a massive chunk of their global marketing budgets.

Manufacturers have already been drifting away from unveiling all of their new models at the big shows, instead using their own digital channels and customer events to launch bikes throughout the year, which usually gives them a greater share of voice. With several manufacturers set to sit out the big shows and launch models through their own channels in 2020, it will be interesting to see if they return in the post Covid world, or if the pandemic will mark the beginning of the end for the giant motorcycle fairs that have been a cornerstone of the industry for decades.