Electric bicycle brand turned electric motorcycle specialist Sondors seems to be in quite a lot of trouble lately, as reports surrounding its inability to fulfill orders have come to the surface. An article by Electrek goes into detail about how it all went wrong and discusses the possibilities for the company moving forward. Nonetheless, Sondors' future isn't looking too good, as more and more customers have become disgruntled with the brand.
The article highlights that Sondors' history has been riddled with issues dating back all the way to 2015, when it first hit the market with its E-Bike, a rugged, barebones electric bicycle that was advertised for sale at just $500. Electrek asserts that, back then, the attractive price tag and impressive spec sheet was deemed by some as too good to be true. Ultimately, the brand was able to deliver the bikes, albeit late and lacking in terms of features when compared to what was promised.
Much more recently, Sondors ventured into electric motorcycles with its Metacycle, and you could argue that this is where its biggest problems find their roots. As a concept, the Sondors Metacycle was an enticing proposition: $5,000 for an urban electric motorcyce with a sporty, futuristic design. There was, however, a huge catch, and it's that customers had to pay the complete amount upon ordering the Metacycle. Unsurprisingly, it took Sondors much longer than promised to deliver the bike, with Electrek's report stating that some customers have been waiting up to two years for the bike.
Late and pending deliveries of the Metacycle aren't the only issues, either. The finished product ended up being nearly 50-percent heavier than the concept, and the polished aluminum frame was replaced by a matte gray frame, much to the disappointment of those who had pre-ordered the bike. Naturally, this led to a lot of customers demanding for refunds, to which Sondors struggled to pony up the cash. In a bid to regain financial footing, the brand attempted an IPO, but this ended up failing in the end.
In what seemed like a last-ditch effort for extra liquidity, Sondors conducted a flash-sale of the Metacycle in March, 2023, selling the bike for just $4,000 USD. This managed to generate 1,000 additional pre-orders for the bike. On top of that, in April, 2023, Sondors also unveiled a new concept electric motorcycle called the MetaBeast, with reservation price of the MetaBeast was set at just $3,000 for the standard model, and $6,500 for the premium MetaBeast X.
With all that buzz surrounding an exciting new off-road model, you'd think that Sondors managed to pull itself together. Alas, this doesn't seem to be the case, as at present, there are still a lot of customers who are waiting for the delivery of their Sondors Metacycles – some of which were placed more than a year ago. To make matters worse, the likelihood of them ever receiving their bikes seems to be dwindling with each passing day.
Electrek's article goes into even more details, highlighting that Sondors' headquarters in Los Angeles are now "permanently closed." Furthermore, the Sondors website doesn't even allow you to make any pre-orders for any of the brand's bikes. It appears that no one in the brand's marketing and PR departments remains employed at the company, as the brand has been unresponsive to inquiries by both the media and its customers. Naturally, this has resulted in already angry customers becoming angrier.
It appears that numerous customers are now discussing plans for a class action lawsuit against Sondors, all while an alleged fraud investigation from the Attorney General of California is also reportedly in the works.
