With all the uncertainty being created by the novel Coronavirus and the (very likely) financial downturn that the international motorcycle industry will be facing, this is just to confirm that the regular editions of MotoWEEK and of International Dealer News will continue.
In these most difficult of times it is very important that we all share the best information we can, and we here at IDN will continue to bring you the most up-to-date news possible from all across Europe.
If you are a 'vendor' (manufacturer, distributor or dealer/retailer), we are here for you - if you have company news or announcements that you would like to get out to fellow international motorcycle industry professionals, just email our General Manager Sara Viney at sara@dealer-world.com.
Meanwhile, here is a quick round-up of some of the industry news we have heard about in the past few days…
KTM - the Austrian manufacturer has suspended motorcycle production from March 30 to April 10 - citing parts supply issues from vendors in northern Italy.
Ducati has extended the planned closure of its factory from March 13 to 18 to a revised re-opening date of March 25th.
Honda, BMW, Kawasaki, Triumph and KTM have all cancelled 'Road Show' or other promotional event initiatives such as dealer open-house events (Bike & Business).
Wunderlich - the German BMW parts and accessory specialist has postponed its annual dealer appreciation open-house weekend (slated for the end of April) until a date to be announced later in the year - at which the company will then be able to celebrate their 35th anniversary at their new custom-built headquarters.
While shows such as MOTORbeurs (Utrecht, February), MCN London (February), Swiss Moto (Zurich, February) and Motorraeder Dortmund (March 5-8) went ahead, Inabike (Jakarta, Indonesia), The Tokyo Motorcycle Show (March) and Motorcycle Taiwan (April) have been either cancelled or postponed (Taiwan is now scheduled for October 21-24).
Spain - Vive la Moto, the show at Madrid's IFEMA that is backed by Spanish trade association ANESDOR, has been cancelled.
Italy - Roma Moto Days has been postponed from its March 5-8 date until April 17-19.
The Isle of Man TT Races that had been slated for May 30 to June 12 has been cancelled for 2020.
In the United States a wide range of events, races and shows - from custom bike shows to MX races and vintage/classic events - have been called off, including the famous Daytona 200 and Daytona TT that had been scheduled in a race day double-header to kick off the 2020 American Flat Track season.
The subsequent April races (Atlanta and Charlotte) have also been cancelled, reducing the planned 18 races to 15, with a season opener at Fort Worth, Texas, on May 2nd.
After a fantastic season opener at Philip Island, Australia, the Jerez, Spain, second round of the 2020 WSBK season (originally scheduled for March 29) has been postponed to 23-25 October, with the Assen (Netherlands) round now slated as the second round on April 19.
At this time, all subsequent races and major events such as Wheels & Waves (Biarritz, June), BMW Motorrad Days (Garmisch-Partenkirchen, July), World Ducati Week (Misano Circuit, July) and beyond (INTERMOT, EICMA etc) are still, theoretically, going ahead.
