We've seen Brompton clones come and go and many with better parts. The owners were in it to simply make a quick buck and then left. They weren't in it for the long run and have moved onto something else. Good for them.

There is a China based company that rivals and has surpassed Brompton with their own ideas. The company is called Dahon and I have two of them. However, I still have a Brompton even though the price would have afforded a high end Dahon easily. New technology is only one reason why people are buying folding bikes and it may not even be the most important. Brompton continues to thrive even with a tech product so you have other factors involved.

Here's one factor. Do you really want to spend lot of money of a bicycle called MIT??