INTERMOT FEATURED OVER 1,100 EXHIBITORS
FROM 40 COUNTRIES
Always regarded as the most “ international ” of the major motorcycle industry shows , INTERMOT had plenty for the custom market trade visitor in the ‘ main ’ halls , in addition to the exhibitors in the allnew ‘ INTERMOT Customized ’ show-within-show concept in the atmospheric Hall 10 . Here we present a selection of “ mainstream ” vendors with product lines for the custom market …
Robin Bradley Publisher robin @ dealer-world . com
Our involvement with INTERMOT through AMD ’ s sister ‘ Metric ’ publication International Dealer News , including the popular International Night networking reception we stage with the support of Koelnmesse and the IVM ( the German motorcycle industry trade association ), has always meant that we have been in a unique position to be able to distil the four additional halls of over 1,100 exhibitors to be able to highlight parts and accessories that are of interest and relevance to custom shops internationally . I have always believed that there is much in the “ mainstream ” of the motorcycle industry to interest V-twin market industry professionals , and that while marketspecific expo environments are vital to the market ’ s core business , “ mainstream ” market events such as INTERMOT and AIMExpo in the United Sates also have a legitimate place in a well-balanced diet of industry trade show activity for even the most hardened of V-twin purists . Held every other year , INTERMOT has always been regarded as THE primary international motorcycle industry nexus , and of Europe ’ s major “ mainstream ” shows the one that
www . AMDchampionship . com attracts the higher mileage riders and hard parts , performance and technical component exhibitors in the greatest numbers . Like all shows of all kinds , worldwide , attendance numbers and exhibitor numbers have reflected the rise and , more recently , dramatic decline in the motorcycle industry , they always do – just as the industry ’ s magazines do . In Europe that decline started somewhat later than it did in the United States , but has endured for much longer than was the case in North America . While the “ recovery ” there appears to have stalled , in Europe there is no question that new motorcycle registrations are now gathering pace again , but context is key to appreciating that the mid-single digit growth numbers being seen in the past 24 months matter . According to ACEM , the Brussels based motorcycle industry trade association for Europe , from just under 2m units in 2002 , the all-markets European motorcycle industry peaked at over 2.5m registrations in 2007 , then shrank to less than 1.2m units in 2013 . Within those figures motorcycle registrations rose from 1.1m units in 2002 to peak at just under 1.6m in 2008 , but collapse to under 800,000 in 2013 . The good news is that by the end of 2015 that number was on the rise again , to 885,453 motorcycles . The even better news is that while the number of mopeds and small displacement
AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - NOVEMBER 2016 41