Exit data, issued by event supremo Pietro Meda immediately after the annual Eicma Milan international motorcycle industry showcase closed its doors on 13 November, underlined the extent to which it has comprehensively spanked biennial competitor Intermot in Cologne.
Six pavilions at the Fiera Milano exhibition centre occupied 35% more space than the 2021 Eicma show and effectively doubled the size of three Koelnmesse halls employed by Intermot two months earlier, which German organiser IVM had struggled to fill anyway. The Italians featured 1370 brands – 59% from overseas exhibitors representing 45 different nations.
Most telling Eicma statistic was registered visitor footfall by 38,747 trade and industry professionals, a 35% increase over 2021, more than half of whom came from abroad. Intermot, returning from a four-year hiatus, had only managed to attract approximately 20,000 business representatives, with about 30% of them from outside Germany.
Overall Eicma attendance by the paying public was 38% up, with the majority buying their tickets online. And media presence for its exclusive press-only opening day pulled an enhanced total of 6900 accredited journalists, photographers and TV crews. The number of new model launches by manufacturers also massively eclipsed the subdued mood at Intermot, where several major brands had been no-shows.
Unsurprisingly, Meda and his chief executive Paolo Magri effusively claimed this performance had once again asserted Eicma’s global leadership and Milan as the undisputed world capital of the motorcycle industry. “Eicma unquestionably remains on the highest step in the entire international scene and this is where we will stay,” opined Meda, modestly.
Magri added: “Opportunities to encourage the meeting between supply and demand, and facilitate the development of concrete business openings, have increased disproportionately, confirming Eicma as a unique place able to profitably unite the B2B and B2C spheres.”
Dates for Eicma 2023 are 7-12 November.