Bike maker Babboe has extended its safety recall to cover some 22,000 cargo bikes, starting with the Netherlands and Germany.

Last month Babboe launched a recall for four versions of its popular cargo bike, saying the safety of users cannot be guaranteed.

Up to 10,000 bikes were subject to that recall which covered the City, City E, Mini and Mini E label and clients with other types of Babboe should also stop using them pending further information, director Gerard Feenema said at the time.

The recall has now been extended to cover more of the company’s products and consumers are being urged to check if their bike falls under the ruling. Most of the bikes can be used after an engineer has looked at them and made any necessary repairs, the company said. Sales of new bikes has also resumed.

More than 6,000 people have reported defects in Babboe cargo bikes to a website set up by a legal firm to handle claims since the problem first emerged earlier this year.

Last week it emerged that product safety watchdog NVWA had joined the public prosecutor in starting a criminal investigation into the company, RTL Nieuws reported.

Photographs, tape recordings, documents and interviews with staff show that Babboe hid broken frames during an NVWA inspection in 2021, RTL said. In one of the recordings staff admit they took the frames elsewhere or “shoved them into containers or vans”.

A spokesman confirmed the NVWA is starting criminal proceedings against the bike maker for “severely jeopardising people’s safety”. “The investigation is being carried out by our criminal investigation department and the public prosecution office. “That will have to confirm the findings,” he said.