China to host Michelin’s ‘Challenge Bibendum’ in November

It’s back after an absence of three and a half years – between 11 and 15 November the Michelin Challenge Bibendum returns. This time the sustainable mobility action takes place in Chengdu, China; the choice of location was announced at a joint press conference by the Michelin Group and the Chengdu municipal government.

Following the theme of “Innovation in Mobility at the Heart of Growth & Urban Well-being,” the world summit will bring together users, providers, and decision-makers to make a difference in sustainable mobility. The five-day event will mainly take place at the Chengdu International Intangible Culture Heritage Exposition Park, which covers an area of more than 1.1 million square metres.

“The Michelin Challenge Bibendum aims to develop a shared vision of tomorrow’s sustainable mobility,” said Patrick Oliva, chairman of the Michelin Challenge Bibendum and senior vice-president of Strategic Anticipation and Sustainable Development at Michelin. “We strongly believe that, in addition to creating new business opportunities, sustainable mobility will benefit both individuals and society as a whole.”

Initiated by Michelin in 1998, Challenge Bibendum brings together the full spectrum of transportation stakeholders, including users, manufacturers, suppliers, public and private operators, universities, energy suppliers, research institutes, political leaders, and NGOs to discuss the issues involved in the challenges of sustainable mobility. This year’s event is the 12th Challenge Bibendum and is the third time it has been held in China. “And Chengdu is the first western city in China to host the event, which made a hit in Shanghai twice in 2004 and 2007,” added Philippe Verneuil, president of Michelin China.

Michelin says that Challenge Bibendum has evolved into a fully-fledged “world lab of tomorrow’s mobility” over the years. The aim for the 2014 Challenge Bibendum is to deliver tangible and deployable solutions to policy-makers in targeted areas including, ‘Winning Technologies’, ‘Targeted Public Policies’, ‘New Economic Tools’ and ‘Innovative Eco-systems.’ With the high development potential of multi-modal mobility, the event has also expanded its focus this year to become a ‘think & action tank’ supporting sustainable mobility.

Host city Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan Province and has over 14 million inhabitants. It has benefitted from the Chinese government’s ‘Go West’ initiative and is the trade, finance, logistics, and science and technology centre of western China. The city, whose automotive industry output surged over 40 per cent last year, is also the nation’s third-largest automobile producer and the biggest in the western region.