Dutch manufacturer Babboe Suspended sales and issued a massive recall

Dutch manufacturer Babboe, which has been making electric cargo bikes for more than 15 years and is considered one of the leaders in the sector, is forced to immediately stop selling its cycles. A global recall is also planned. The reason is a significant risk that the frame of its bicycles will break.

The Dutch group Accell is in disarray. The owner of the Batavus, Haibike, Lapierre, Raleigh, and Winora brands, to name a few, is currently going through a delicate and pivotal period. Recently, there has been talk of relocating a large part of its production to Hungary and Turkey, where labor is cheaper.

As a result, between 100 and 150 jobs at the Heerenveen site in the Netherlands are at risk. This decision was taken due to the economic difficulties of the company, the fault of the bicycle crisis that we have been observing since mid-2023. Added to this is a new relative disappointment, this time, with its Babboe brand.

Frames can break

Babboe has been manufacturing two- and three-wheel cargo bikes for over 15 years. It is quite simply one of the sector leaders in this very popular segment for 2 years. Problem: the manufacturer was caught by the Dutch Food and Consumer Safety Authority (NVWA), which ordered it to stop its sales immediately.

At issue: an increased risk that the frame of its electric bikes will break, after several reports in recent months and some reports on this subject in recent years. Launched at the end of 2023, the NVWA investigation demonstrates that the security of users is threatened. Especially since Babboe is positioning itself on family bikes, intended to transport children.

Furthermore, Babboe did not carry out any internal investigation to determine the causes of these serious malfunctions. The NVWA has therefore not received any reports on this matter. For Babboe to resume sales, it must prove to the organization the safety of its vehicles, in particular through complete technical documentation.

The list of bikes concerned

In addition, a massive recall has been requested by the NVWA: it concerns a very large part of Babboe's catalog. Here is the complete list of models in question:

• Babboe City/City-E/City Mountain

• Babboe Curve/E-Curve/Mountain Curve

• Babboe Big/Big-E

• Babboe Dog/Dog-E

• Babboe Max-E

• Babboe Mini-E/Mini Mountain

• Babboe Pro Trike/Trike-E/Trike XL

• Babboe Carve-E/Carve Mountain

According to the media Bright, the company will soon begin this recall campaign. “  We will inform Babboe owners as soon as possible,” she said.

In its report, the Dutch body explains that it intends to inform “its fellow supervisors in other EU member states via the European Safety Gate signaling system ”. At present, no informative messages have been published on the French site. However, we advise you to follow the NVWA guidelines if you own one of the affected Babboe models.