The Dutch bicycle group Accell has been insolvent since August. It owns, among others, the mountain bike brands Ghost, Haibike, and Lapierre. The German companies behind Ghost and Haibike are undergoing insolvency proceedings, while Lapierre’s French manufacturer is undergoing restructuring proceedings. An investor is being sought for all three brands.

The warranty is provided by the company, not the brand

Today, the companies behind Ghost and Haibike continue to process warranty claims, including those that arose before the insolvency filing in August. This is according to Veit Mathauer of the Sympra agency, which handles inquiries on behalf of the German Accell companies. Replacement parts can generally be supplied, but credit notes are issued only under certain conditions. 

For Swiss customers of Ghost and Haibike, not only is the manufacturer insolvent, but so is the distributor. Warranty claims were previously handled by Accell Suisse, but since its bankruptcy, it is no longer processing them. Swiss dealers are therefore contacting the companies in Germany directly. According to Mathauer, this also applies to customers who have registered their Ghost bikes for the extended warranty. Warranty claims will thus continue to be processed for Swiss customers for the time being.

If one of the brands is sold, the new owner decides on the warranties. This is because a warranty is a voluntary commitment by the company—in Ghost’s case, Ghost-Bikes GmbH. If an investor purchases only the rights to the name and the business, but not the entire company, the warranties remain with the old, insolvent company unless the investor explicitly assumes them. This was the case with the e-bike manufacturer VanMoof: The new owner did not assume the old warranties in 2023.

Insolvency Does Not Affect the Warranty 

The warranty remains unaffected by the manufacturer’s insolvency. It is required by law: The dealer is liable for defects a bicycle already has at the time of purchase, typically for two years. In Germany, this is mandatory for private customers. In Switzerland, the dealer can generally exclude the warranty in the sales contract, and according to the industry association Velosuisse, it is common practice in the bicycle trade to replace it with the manufacturer’s warranty. A customer with such a contract is then reliant on the manufacturer’s warranty. However, a complete exclusion for private customers is controversial and risky, says Nathalie Schneitter, president of Velosuisse.

So, if you ride a Ghost, Haibike, or Lapierre and experience a defect, you should first contact the dealer—in Switzerland, be sure to check their terms and conditions. If these exclude the warranty or if the purchase was made more than two years ago, only the manufacturer’s warranty remains. In the event of a sale, the new owner of the brand decides whether to honor it.