BOLOGNA, Italy — The organizer of Autopromotec, the biennial exhibition of automotive equipment and aftermarket products held in Bologna, has canceled the 2021 edition of the show and rescheduled it for late May 2022.
The organizer, Anzola Emilia, Italy-based Promotec S.r.l., said it decided to reschedule the trade show, originally scheduled for May 26-29, 2021, because the "protection of people and companies that choose to be part of Autopromotec" is its "primary and essential" goal.
The event, held biennially at the Fiera di Bologna in Bologna, will now take place May 25-28, 2022. The last Autopromotec was held in May 2019.
Autopromotec, one of three major international trade shows catering to the automotive aftermarket in Europe, has been held in Bologna every other year for the past 50-plus years.
Postponing the event until 2022 will enable exhibiting companies to invest their financial resources at a more appropriate moment, Promotec said, and thus be able to maximize business opportunities. Promotec said many analysts have identified 2022 as the year of economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rescheduling the event also avoids a potential conflict with Tire Cologne, which was rescheduled for May 18-20, 2021, from its original June 9-12, 2020, time slot in light of the spreading health threat posed by the COVID-19 coronavirus.
Event organizer Koelnmesse G.m.b.H. said in late March it decided to postpone the Cologne, Germany-based trade fair after "in-depth consultation and in agreement" with the event's co-sponsor, the BRV/Bundesverband Reifenhandel & Vulkaniseur-Handwerk e.V. (German Tyre Retail & Vulcanization Trade Association).
Other major European auto aftermarket trade shows include Automechanika, held biennially in Frankfurt, Germany. The next fair is scheduled for Sept. 14-18, 2021.