New production partner and production start
After an amicable settlement with Artega/TMI, the Microlino team plans to start the production of the Microlino in 2021 in Turin with its new production partner CECOMP. The most important points in brief:
Out-of-court settlement between Micro and Artega/TMI
To meet Micro-Mobility Systems' expectations in terms of driving performance, quality and safety, production will start in 2021.
The production and development partner will be the Italian family company CECOMP, which developed and produces the electric car "Bluecar".
More than 16,000 bookings for the Microlino to date.
Already at the end of November 2019, Micro Mobility Systems and TMI/Artega settled their differences amicably. From now on, the two companies will go their separate ways and stop working together. Micro will allow Artega to market a cabin scooter based on the Microlino with the name "Karo" and Micro will market its Microlino independently. "We are happy to have finally closed this chapter and can now fully focus on our vision of this new product category between motorbike and car", says Wim Ouboter, founder of the company and kickboard pioneer.
Production of the Microlino is scheduled to start next year. "Intensive testing of our 22 pre-production cars has shown us that the current state of development does not meet our expectations in terms of driving performance, quality and safety and that we therefore have to change more than we had expected", says Wim Ouboter. In order to achieve this as quickly as possible, the company appointed Peter Müller as the new Technical Director in September. Peter Müller is a former executive of BMW and Porsche and other companies in the automotive and motorbike industry. He will use his extensive experience in the automotive and motorbike sector to prepare for series production of the Microlino as quickly as possible.
The Italian family-owned company CECOMP has been chosen as the new production and development partner. CECOMP was founded in 1978 by Giovanni Forneris and has been involved, as a model and prototype manufacturer, in the production of many emblematic vehicles such as the Lancia Delta Integrale and the Golf 1. In 2011 the company launched the "Bluecar", for which it was the development and production company under contract. The car has been used as part of Bolloré's "Autolib" programme, among other car-sharing programmes around the world. The company is managed by the second generation Gianluca and Paolo Forneris and has 5 production sites in Europe for prototypes, small and medium series vehicle production and the production of aluminium body parts. In addition, the company is a shareholder in the world's largest car design company, Icona, with offices in Turin, Los Angeles and Shanghai.
Currently, Micro has more than 16,000 bookings for the Microlino. Despite the delays and waiting times, the company is optimistic: "In the end, our customers will thank us for taking this difficult decision to further improve the car before it goes to market. We are a Swiss family-owned company with 20 years of tradition in the field of urban mobility and we are known worldwide for our innovative and high-quality products. We want to live up to this reputation with the Microlino as well", says Oliver Ouboter. His brother Merlin adds: "The Microlino 2.0, as we call it internally, will be much better than the current version. It will offer much better driving performance, better ergonomics, easier maintenance and can also be produced in large quantities. Patience will be rewarded, although we are very much looking forward to the start of series production of the Microlino".