The frames of hundreds of Babboe brand cargo bikes were broken – now the responsible Dutch supervisory authority is investigating the manufacturer. He now wants to recall and repair over 20,000 bikes.
The Dutch goods inspection authority NVWA has initiated a criminal investigation against the manufacturer of the Babboe cargo bikes due to serious safety deficiencies. A spokesman for the authority in The Hague confirmed corresponding media reports. The public prosecutor and inspectors from the authority would now examine whether Babboe acted negligently.
Broken frames
According to the authority, hundreds of frames were broken and the manufacturer did not investigate the cause well enough and took no action to address it. This endangered people’s safety. The TV station RTL Nieuws first reported on it. Former Babboe employees told the station that broken bicycle frames had been hidden shortly before an audit by the authority.
The authority had already shut down trading in February. In addition, some models were recalled after serious safety defects were discovered. Babboe has now announced that further models and a total of 22,000 bikes will be recalled. From mid-April these will initially be picked up in the Netherlands and Germany.
Owners of Babboe bikes that are less than five years old would be offered a new example. The manufacturer expects that most of the wheels could be used again after inspection and possible repair. Cargo bikes are particularly popular with parents for transporting small children.
Director regrets problems
The parent company Accell promised its full cooperation. If that is what the media is reporting, then Accell strongly disapproves of it, it said in a statement.
The company’s director, Gerard Feenema, regretted the problems. “We understand that this is annoying for our customers and have therefore done our best to find a suitable solution and compensate them.”
Andreas Meyer-Feist, ARD Brussels, tagesschau, April 3, 2024 4:13 p.m