Vorwerk shares fell 1.1% on Thursday following the announcement that Italian competition authorities have opened an investigation into the company over alleged unfair commercial practices tied to its discontinued Neato robotic vacuum cleaner.
The watchdog said the probe was triggered by consumer complaints lodged between November 2025 and April 2026. According to the regulator, Vorwerk discontinued cloud services for the Neato robot, removing functions that the regulator considers essential and effectively making the devices unusable for affected customers.
The inquiry targets two Italian units of the German appliance maker. The authority stated that the shutdown of software systems may amount to "misleading and aggressive commercial practices" as defined under the Italian Consumer code.
Inspectors from the competition authority visited the premises of Vorwerk Management and Vorwerk Italia on Wednesday, carrying out on-site inspections with assistance from Italy's financial police. The visits form part of the regulator's fact-finding process.
Vorwerk is widely recognized for producing the Thermomix kitchen appliance; the company also sold the Neato branded robotic vacuum, whose cloud services are at the center of the Italian probe.
Context and developments
The regulator's statement links the investigation directly to the consumer complaints submitted over the six-month period from November 2025 through April 2026. The complaints allege that the removal of cloud-based functionality removed essential features and left devices effectively inoperable.
The authority's preliminary view, as cited in its announcement, is that disabling the software could be considered under provisions that prohibit misleading and aggressive commercial conduct, but the probe is ongoing and the regulator is still assembling evidence.
What is known and what remains open
- The regulator has opened an investigation following consumer complaints and has inspected Vorwerk's Italian offices.
- The allegations center on discontinued cloud services for the Neato robot and the consequent loss of essential device functionality.
- At present the investigation involves two Italian subsidiaries; further steps will depend on the regulator's findings.