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Accell Group has completed the acquisition of Dutch e-cargo bike solutions provider Velosophy.
Accell, which previously held a 35 per cent minority stake in Velosophy, will now take on Babboe, CarQon and Centaur Cargo as part of the acquisition.
Velosophy launched the Babboe brand more than ten years ago with the aim of making cargo bikes available for all young families, and is now active in 22 countries. To serve the top end of the market, Velosophy launched CarQon in 2018, a premium e-cargo bike. Velosophy’s Centaur Cargo serves the fast-growing market for electric delivery bikes for urban transport. This B2B cargo bike specialist is currently running various pilots in partnership with major e-commerce players.
Ton Anbeek, CEO Accell Group: “This acquisition is a significant step forward in our urban mobility strategy and bolsters our position in the market for e-cargo bikes. The focus of this strategy is not just on consumers, but also on the growing demand for smarter and cleaner mobility solutions for the delivery of parcels, shopping and meals in cities.
“The Velosophy team lives and breathes innovation and provides us with even more execution power in the international e-cargo bike market. Together we can make a real difference for both consumers and the business market in areas such as electric drives and safety, but also on specific e-cargo innovations such as battery capacity, road holding and cornering stability.”
Epco Vlugt, general manager, Velosophy, said: “We are extremely pleased with this more intensive partnership and acquisition. Accell has been involved as a shareholder right from the start and throughout those years has been helping us to realise our vision. This has resulted in a truly wonderful company that is now active in 22 countries. The growing international demand for urban bike solutions is creating enormous opportunities – opportunities that we, as a small player, are not big enough or fast enough to respond to.
“By joining forces with Accell, we will be able to develop and implement our innovative solutions more quickly and launch them on a global scale. The opportunities opened up by Accell as a global player give us a huge energy boost to continue the expansion of Velosophy and its brands and to allow them to thrive.”
