The collapse of the Dutch manufacturer of high-end cycles VanMoof, declared bankrupt on Tuesday July 18 by the Amsterdam court, was as brutal as it was sudden. It caused confusion among the more than 190,000 owners of the “Tesla of the little queen”. Overnight, the electric-assist bicycle brand ceased operations.
Deliveries of new bikes have been halted, as have repair returns with the same-day closure of all their stores. No regard for customers. VanMoof executives “have my recently repaired bike inside”laments a London user on a Facebook group.
The bankruptcy surprised even the employees of the manufacturer, because, Monday, July 24, the website still does not mention it. On the contrary, he still invites visitors to book a test drive for the VanMoof S5 and A5, the brand’s latest machines. Bikes with a sleek design still sold for 3,498 euros each.
Reviews and complaints
The brand suffered heavy losses. In 2021 and 2022, these amounted, each time, to 80 million euros. Too much for the 128 million dollars (about 115 million euros) raised two years ago. Technological innovations and poor marketing seem to be behind the exit from the road of the group founded in 2009 in Amsterdam by the two brothers Ties and Taco Carlier.
Indeed, since the launch of the first electrically assisted bicycles, criticisms and complaints from dissatisfied customers have multiplied on online forums. Internet users particularly deplore the fragility of the IT solutions used to control the bike thanks to Bluetooth technology and a smartphone application.
Exasperated customers also denounce the repair times which were counted in weeks, if not months. Follower of a so-called “proprietary” strategy, like Canal+ or Apple, VanMoof had the parts or batteries manufactured for its only bicycles sold only on the Internet or in very few stores. Likewise, for repairs, customers had to send their bikes back to Amsterdam. Procedures that were too cumbersome and too costly, which ended up ruining the brand.
Crowdfunding
Still, the thousands of VanMoof owners in Europe sharpen the greed. As soon as the bankruptcy procedure was announced, several companies decided to come to the aid of customers suddenly left behind. This is the case of Cowboy, a competing Belgian brand also established in the niche of high-end electric bikes with an innovative design.
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