B-ON files for insolvency

The car manufacturer B-ON, which took over the Streetscooter production, is apparently bankrupt. The group's German unit has filed for insolvency at the Aachen District Court and put the production of the Streetscooter on hold.

It is unclear how the imbalance came about. The company had orders, Jürgen Müller, chairman of the Neapco works council, told the Aachener Zeitung. The business figures for the past year presented in April also looked good. At the time, the company reported a turnover of 125 million dollars (about 114 million euros at the time) as well as contracts and letters of intent for the sale of a total of 11,000 vehicles in 2022. Negotiations for a further 30,000 vehicles in the current year were also well advanced, it was said in the spring.

The insolvency only concerns the B-ON GmbH, the company’s German entity. Parent company B-ON Sarl and all other subsidiaries will continue business as usual. According to B-ON, “the mandate of the German entity was related solely to the production of formerly named Streetscooter vehicles, at our partner Neapco’s manufacturing facility in Dueren.” Operations in the US, UK, Switzerland, China, Japan, and Latin America will continue with the development of new electric commercial vehicles and productivity-enhancement technologies and with unique solutions for commercial fleet electrification services.

During the visit of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the manufacturer emphasised that it had found new buyers for the electric vehicles in addition to Deutsche Post, the former owner of Streetscooter. Delivery bottlenecks for important components, such as the battery, would also be a thing of the past.

B-ON took over the production of the Streetscooter from Deutsche Post in January 2022. At the time, the company was still called Odin Automotive. Initially, production of the vehicles continued at the German Streetscooter plant in Düren with a capacity of 30,000 vehicles per year.

The rebranding to B-ON was completed in May, including the launch of a complementary range of electrification services in addition to the established vehicle line. “The company’s evolution from an original equipment manufacturer to a comprehensive e-vehicle solutions provider has been undertaken to make the transition to e-vehicles as easy and hassle-free as possible for fleet owners – by providing e-vehicles, charging and energy management, financing, service and maintenance, driver training and advanced telematics through a single point of contact for the customer,” B-ON writes on its website.

The company’s headquarters are in Luxembourg. In addition, the company is also active with its own branches in the UK, Switzerland, Germany, Japan and Latin America.

aachener-zeitung.de (in German)