Munich. Hendrik von Kuenheim, general director of BMW Motorrad since the beginning of this year, has been elected President of the International Motorcycle Manufacturers Association (IMMA) by its members. He succeeds Minoru Harada, Honda, who had held the office since May 2006. The members of the IMMA comprise all of the world’s most prominent motorcycle manufacturers, serving as a platform upon which they can come together to jointly define technical standards and to present their interests from a common front. Amongst its activities, the association works together with the UN World Forum, with whom it is aiming to effect the harmonisation of technical vehicle regulations (UNECE WP29). It is for this reason that Hendrik von Kuenheim stated that one of the goals of his presidency would be to take on “an enthusiastic role in the current international discussion on increased road safety.” BMW was the first company in the world to sell an anti-lock braking system for motorcycles, and to this day, it remains the market leader in this particular form of safety equipment. In 1947, BMW also became one of the founder members of the Bureau Permanent International des Constructeurs de Motocycles, as the IMMA was known until 1987.