VANCOUVER, British Columbia (BRAIN) — Envo Drive Systems, the maker of various electric vehicles including e-bikes, has acquired VeloMetro Mobility, a fellow Vancouver-based company, which went bankrupt last winter. Envo says it will bring VeloMetro's principal product, the Veemo electric vehicle, to market by next summer.
The Veemo is a semi-enclosed, three-wheeled, pedal-powered vehicle with an electric assist. VeloMetro announced the Veemo in 2016 and the company accepted orders but never delivered the product. According to Canadian news reports, customers who had placed a Veemo order with VeloMetro had their reservations canceled and refunded before the bankruptcy filing.
The Veemo was originally marketed at $4,999 but the price was later increased to $12,000.
Envo said it has a headstart in bringing the Veemo to market, having previously begun developing a similar vehicle that it called the "Velo Mobile."
"Veemo was well ahead and offered the best project in this field, thanks to the excellent teamwork among their top-of-the-line engineers, plus 10 years of experimental research and development," said Envo founder and CEO Ali Kazemkhani. "The Veemo is extremely well-developed in terms of weight, stability and ergonomics; and equally important, it's a great-looking product that's super fun to ride."
The Veemo design has two wheels in front and one in the rear. It has a full windshield and a hard plastic roof for weather protection.
"The news about VeloMetro's bankruptcy wasn't good news for the industry or the planet, because the world needs products like this," Kazemkhani said. "However, we at Envo are confident we have solutions for the problems Veemo had been experiencing bringing the bike to market, and we plan to deliver this product to the market by next summer."
The project has the support of Dale Brubacher-Cressman, who was the sole creditor of Velo Metro. "I am thrilled to partner with Envo Drive Systems to bring Veemo to market. Through their engineering and supply chain management expertise, along with their energy and drive, Ali and his team have built an exceptionally successful company in the fiercely competitive e-bike and e-scooter market. Envo has been designing, building and selling innovative electric mobility vehicles for many years and are poised for much continued success. I can't imagine a better partner than Envo to bring Veemo to market at a price and level of quality necessary to make it a resounding commercial success," Brubacher-Cressman said.
