Group Michelin has selected Berlin as the site of the 2011 Challenge Bibendum road mobility conference, scheduled for May 18-22, 2011, at that city's historic Tempelhof Airport.
Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit stressed the city's pioneering role in the area of electric powertrains in his remarks at the 10th Challenge Bibendum, held June 1-4 in Rio de Janeiro.
Tempelhof Airport was the staging area for the Berlin Airlift of 1948-49, when Western allies circumvented a Soviet blockade of Western-occupied post-World War II Berlin by flying in nearly all the essentials the 2.5 million residents of that zone needed to survive.
Michelin expects about 4,000 stakeholders of road mobility and 120 or so vehicles from all over the world will participate in the event, which highlights cutting-edge technologies designed to improve mobility and reduce tranportation's environmental impact.
Participants of the event will have the opportunity to ride and drive these environmentally friendly vehicles—electric city bikes, passenger cars, trucks and buses—while many of the development engineers will be present.
An exhibition center presenting the most recent technologies of sustainable mobility will be part of the event as well as round tables and conferences, attended by distinguished international experts. The vehicles must prove their suitability for daily use during a rally, Michelin said, and will participate in several technical tests analyzing their achievement potential.