Babboe will recall around 22,000 cargo bikes after investigations into safety concerns

Babboe will recall around 22,000 bicycles for safety reasons. It concerns a third of all their cargo bikes, the company has reported. The first models will be recalled in the Netherlands and Germany in mid-April. Bikes in other countries will be recalled after this.

The cargo bike manufacturer lost credibility earlier this year due to specific cargo bike models being unsafe. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) started a criminal investigation into the company after allegations surfaced that workers hid the defective bicycles and concerns from inspectors. The bicycle frames randomly developed fractures and could break, according to earlier reports.

The company had earlier announced that people with a Babboe cargo bike would receive more clarity about the models that the company will recall around the Easter weekend.

All owners of a Babboe cargo bike that was produced within the last five years and falls under the recall will be offered a new bike when their cargo bike is picked up. The customers have the option of choosing an e-bike over a new cargo bike.

Bikes within the recall but older than five years old will receive replacements of similar value.

Most of the Babboe cargo bikes are safe enough to be used after some maintenance, said Babboe director Gerard Feenema. He claims that the recall will take a lot of time. “We expect this to be an annoyance for our customers and have done our best to find a suitable solution and to compensate them.”

The NVWA ordered Babboe to stop selling cargo bikes and recall the models that had already been sold in February. After an investigation, the watchdog concluded that hundreds of bike frames had been broken.

The bike company was accused of not acting with diligence when it investigated and detailed the reasons for the broken bike frames. It was also accused of failing to disclose the matter or taking appropriate action when it learned of the problems.