Electric-vehicle firm bankrupt

Vancouver electric vehicle manufacturing and online sales business VeloMetro Mobility has declared bankruptcy. According to a statement from Vancouver accounting firm Grant Thornton, VeloMetro Mobility Inc. (doing business as Veemo) filed an assignment in bankruptcy effective on Jan. 23 at 3 p.m. All creditors (people or businesses that are owed money) have since been notified and a first meeting of the creditors is scheduled for Feb. 7. Veemo's flagship product, a three-wheeled, semi-enclosed battery/pedal vehicle, was launched in 2016 and has since been refined to allow it to be operated on bike lanes without a driver's licence. A statement on the company's website dated Jan. 19 said it had become evident the company couldn't “say with confidence” when it would be able to deliver vehicles to people who had paid a deposit to reserve a vehicle. Subsequently the company cancelled all reservations and said that it would refund reservation payments and deposits. In March 2022, the company increased the price of a vehicle from $6,400 to $12,000. As late as October 2022, the company said it was being impacted by supply chain problems that were slowing production.