Eurobike 2013, which took place in Friedrichshafen, Germany on Aug. 28-31, registered a higher attendance than last year, with 45,200 visitors versus 43,700 in 2012. They came from 111 countries, up from 97 last year. The foreign share was 56 percent. The business mood at the fair was said to be positive.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel officially kicked off the 2013 edition of Eurobike on Aug. 28. Addressing an invitation-only audience of media and industry leaders, she emphasized the importance of clean urban mobility and said that Germany is not just a car nation but also “a cycling nation,” where 70 million people use their bikes. She further noted that opening Eurobike was for her as important as opening the International Automobile Exhibition, IAA, which she would be doing the following week.
Chancellor Merkel, who is seeking re-election, said that her government wants to create favorable political conditions and provide the right infrastructures to get more Germans to ride their bikes. Through a so-called Bike Traffic Plan, by 2020 the German government wants to increase the usage of bicycles in cities to 15 percent of all trips of up to 5 kilometers. The ratio currently stands at around 5 percent. She also spoke out against compulsory helmet laws, arguing that they might discourage more people from cycling. As for the wearing of helmets, her government focuses on voluntary usage as opposed to bringing in laws.
Merkel described the bike industry as an economic driver, capable of withstanding times of economic weakness through product innovations, such as the increasingly successful e-bikes. She ended her speech with a quote, in the same way as she started it, saying that somebody once said, “The bicycle is like the economy. If it doesn't move forward you stumble over.” She had started her speech by quoting one of the first bicycle manufacturers in Germany, Adam Opel, who later went into cars. Opel said that no other vehicle is capable of combining joy and functionality as well as bicycles.
After her official show opening, Chancellor Merkel took a pre-arranged tour of the fair and stopped by some stands on the show floor, including those of Winora, Bosch, Specialized, Scott and Cycle Union.
Eurobike's organizers denied some rumors that had circulated during the show suggesting that the 2014 edition would be over four instead of three days. Eurobike 2014 will be held from Wednesday, Aug. 27 to Saturday, Aug. 30, 2014. Demo Day will be Tuesday, Aug. 26 and the public day will be Saturday, Aug. 30.
