Owners of troubled VanMoof e-bikes get their software keys from rival company

Owners of troubled VanMoof e-bikes get their software keys from rival company

a year ago
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https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/07/rival-e-bike-maker-helps-vanmoof-owners-grab-bike-keys-while-company-struggles/

VanMoof e-bikes have a look, and price tag, from the near future. They're also a bit endangered these days, as their Netherlands-based maker has run out of money and asked for temporary protection from creditors. Sensing this, a Belgian e-bike company jumped in to provide an app that should help VanMoof owners keep riding, even if the parent company stalls out.

VanMoof has had administrators appointed to it by a Dutch court, protecting it from creditors for at least a two-month "cooling down period" while it explores options, according to a company spokesperson and media reports. After devoted customers began to notice outages and halts to order-taking last week, the company closed its retail stores in New York, Tokyo, Berlin, and other locations. A company spokesperson told Forbes last week that the company would "work hard to continue our services" and would contact customers about pending deliveries or repairs.