Silence UK in trouble?

[roadster]

My Silence S01 has been a generally useful runabout and as its coming up to three years old I though I might get the improved new model to replace it. So last month I sent an email enquiry and received an automatic reply acknowledging and saying they would be in touch. As a month had passed without anything further I emailed a reminder and the response was exactly the same pro-forma email repeated.

This has triggered some alarm bells so I did a preliminary search on the state of the companys Silence UK Ltd. and Wharfedale Leisure Ltd. and the signs are not good for either. I do hope they are going to bounce back but at present it seems like the web site may be the only thing still up.

If anyone in the Solihull area could check out their showroom at
Marlow House, 310 Haslucks Green Rd, Shirley, Solihull B90 2NE

I would be most grateful.

[StephenC]

If this is them - https://find-and-update.company-informa ... y/05693860 - the company has been liquidated.

Sad if true.

[roadster]

If this is them - https://find-and-update.company-informa ... y/05693860 - the company has been liquidated.

Sad if true.

I don't think that is them although they use that name up front. Their trading company is Wharfdale Leisure.
They have responded to my second email but in the meantime I found a West London dealer
https://www.green-mopeds.com
who apparently do have stock of the S01+.
So I hope I might be able to buy from them.

[StephenC]

Happy to stand corrected

[MrGrumpy]

Just been on their website - they claim to be launching a miniature car in February! So they appear to be business, but of course anyone can update a website. The car in some ways looks quite sensible - its obviously a town only car, but has a top speed of 52mph (better than the useless ones with a top speed of 28!), with a quoted range of 92 miles for £16k.
As for the scoots, BIG price reductions - the S01+ down to £6.2k, was £7.5k. Is that good news or a sign of desperation?
For me, the S01 is the elec scoot that seems the most useful - with enough performance and range for many journeys. But it still costs more than say a Honda ADV350, which can do everything the S01 can but also blast up M-ways and tour (if required!).

[roadster]

All bigger Silence models appear to use the same battery pack, two in some 4 wheel cases. But the overriding advantage over other electric scooters is the very large storage capacity. As far as the electric aspect goes the Silence provides short distance transport in all but the worst weather and costs very little to run. In this area scooter parking is 99% free and this is ideal for journeys into (for example) Portsmouth where it also cuts through traffic jams easily. Finally I would say that it has far better performance than its nominal 125 classification and I am hoping the plus version at least partly overcomes the 62 mph limiter when forced to overtake on dual carriageways.

[Data]

Just been on their website - they claim to be launching a miniature car in February! So they appear to be business, but of course anyone can update a website. The car in some ways looks quite sensible - its obviously a town only car, but has a top speed of 52mph (better than the useless ones with a top speed of 28!), with a quoted range of 92 miles for £16k.
As for the scoots, BIG price reductions - the S01+ down to £6.2k, was £7.5k. Is that good news or a sign of desperation?
For me, the S01 is the elec scoot that seems the most useful - with enough performance and range for many journeys. But it still costs more than say a Honda ADV350, which can do everything the S01 can but also blast up M-ways and tour (if required!).

If going for a cheap EV car, best go for the brand new version of the Citroen C3 EV out later this year. They start at just £17,500 with up to 192 mile range from the new sodium ion batteries. Its the start of the new cheaper better performing EV's that are coming onto the market over the next couple of years. Hope silence keep going though. I like them.

[Nordboy]

Isn't that the same as a Seat Mo? Looks very similar, another option?
https://www.seat.com/carworlds/seat-mo/125

[MrGrumpy]

The Silence and the Seat Mo are indeed exactly the same thing. Interesting marketing strategy to try and sell scooters via car dealers!!!

[roadster]

This may be the death knell for Silence or even for electric two wheelers in general. As in my original post I was quite happy to replace my 3 year old S01 with the latest model and I didn't expect to do that without significant outlay. I even found dealers that have the new version in stock. But as soon as I explained that I wanted to exchange my current machine ( with less than 2000 miles on the clock ) I was ignored and that was that. Apparently they are so worried about the cost of batteries they are unwilling to take any electric bikes in PX, even when they are electric bike specialists! What seems to have happened is that the cheap Chinese batteries used by some electric bike manufacturers have proved vey inconsistent in quality and dealers haven't a clue how to differentiate between good and bad.

So no more electric for me. I'll post what I have lined up instead - probably under mini-muppets!