This year, we left for Frankfurt with a wait-and-see attitude. For the very first time, LEVA-EU had a “real” stand on the show floor. In Friedrichshafen, we rather had a meeting place in a quiet corner, which turned out to be an excellent solution for us. The stand this year was set up as a meeting place, also available to our members. It proved a success as we welcomed a lot of visitors. Quite a few appointments had been planned in advance. On top of that, lots of people dropped by unannounced to find out about LEVA-EU, with a specific question or just to say hello. Many visitors came to see us following LEVA-EU’s call for evidence of damage to EU e-bike companies by dumping measures. Visits to the stand were such that there was no time left for us to visit the show ourselves.

The information meeting on Thursday was also a success with more than 50 attendees. The meeting room was in a hall that was not in use for Eurobike. Consequently, finding the place was quite a feat. Annick Roetynck and Bram Rotthier gave a very comprehensive update on all the major issues currently on the European aganda: standardisation, the new Machinery Regulation and ditto Battery Regulation, the Critical Raw Materials Act and dumping. Interested parties can still purchase the presentation.

Despite Eurobike’s success, Frankfurt remains far less pleasant than Friedrichshafen. The show has lost a bit of its soul by moving. In the gigantic complex, you walk kilometres from one hall to another. And in the process, you meet far fewer acquaintances than in Friedrichshafen’s compact complex. Frankfurt indeed offers room to grow, but how big should it get? It is already immense.

LEVA-EU’s stand was in Hall 8 which was dedicated to light electric vehicles (LEVs). The LEVs, however, deserved some more bells and whistles. There were two immense silent conference rooms in the hall where communication was entirely by headphones. The LEV sessions were tucked away in the middle of the hall and speakers had to shout to be heard by the mere few attendees. It is to be hoped that the LEV-sessions will also have a large and silent stage next year.

Sustainability is a word that has featured in Eurobike communications for a few years now. In fact, this year’s conference programme on Friday was entirely devoted to sustainability. It was therefore a painful sight during the build-up to see that a lot of “disposable” stands were still being erected. Perhaps it is time to also introduce and apply the term sustainability in the exhibitors’ regulations.

All in all, it was a stormy show for LEVA-EU. We were inundated with visitors over the three days. When we drove from the show to our hotel on Thursday, we were also almost literally engulfed by a storm that unleashed a heavy deluge on us.

The 32nd edition of Eurobike promises to be special for LEVA-EU. We will set up a special programme around Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) and standardisation. More on that later, of course.