Autopromotec postponed until 2022

Autopromotec has postponed its 29th edition, originally planned for 26 – 29 May 2021 for a year. The event will now run Bologna from 25 – 28 May 2022. According to the show’s organisers Promotec SpA, the protection of exhibition was the primary reason for the decision. However, The Tire Cologne’s decision to postpone its 2020 show to dates that clash with the previously planned 2021 running of Autopromotec is likely to have featured in the decision.

“The Covid-19 pandemic continues to register high rates of contagion, and severe limitations to international travels persist”, said Renzo Servadei, Autopromotec CEO. “Proper planning on the part of all the players of the sector is crucial to create a high-level event, but the uncertainty related to the measures to deal with the sanitary crisis makes it difficult for national and international exhibitors and visitors to plan their business travels well in advance. The pre-registration forms received from exhibiting companies up until now, however, are consistent with those of the past editions”, Servadei continued.

Between now and 2022 Autopromotec is working on a digital show scheduled for May 2021 that is designed to “support companies in view of the full restart of their activities, keeping them in touch with the global market.”

Autopromotec reports that the show took the decision to postpone following “a deep analysis of the economic and sanitary framework on a global scale, having as its primary goal the protection of its almost 1700 exhibiting companies”, something that has been a particular concern for international companies. And with 43 per cent of exhibitors coming from abroad in 2019 this particular consideration is said to have made all the difference.

The reason 2022 was selected for the next show is because “this is a year identified by many analysts as that of the economic recovery, will enable the exhibiting companies to invest their financial resources at a more appropriate moment, thus being able to maximize business opportunities, which has always been a strong point of the Bologna exhibition”, Autopromotec representatives explained in a statement.

Tire Cologne postponement impact

One thing the Autopromotec postponement statement didn’t mention was the impact of The Tire Cologne’s decision to postpone its 2020 edition to dates in 2021 that clashed with Autopromotec’s previously planned show. However, when that happened the clash was provocative enough to draw an angry response from Renzo Servadei. Speaking to our Italian group publication, PneusNews.it in March Servadei said “he was sorry to note that the date set is close to Autopromotec” and that “this choice, far from any attempt to harmonize initiatives in an emergency that involves us all, will force many exhibitors to make penalizing choices for Cologne”. Characterising The Tire Cologne’s rescheduling decision as commercial Darwinism, he said it was not “the time to play ‘survival of the fittest’” and rather suggested strategies of “solidarity and collaboration should be triggered.”

For their part, The Tire Cologne representatives told Tyres & Accessories that they “…do not want to build up unnecessary competition, but there was no alternative time schedule for us.” The Tire Cologne specifically countered the accusations of “survival of the fittest” strategy by explaining “the particular challenges we all currently face leave little or no room for manoeuvre”.

In the end, while the protection of exhibitors was no-doubt at the forefront of the decision to postpone Autopromotec, the Italian show’s decision to run it in even numbered years from 2022 onwards must also be a strategic move designed to avoid future editions of The Tire Cologne. While Servadei warned that “many exhibitors” may “make penalizing choices for Cologne” in response the clash and favoured “solidarity and collaboration”, in the end it seems pragmatism is the order of the day.