Turkish-Cypriotic EV brand Günsel ready to start producing B9

March 22, 2023

They have been working silently since 2016 in the Turkish part of Cyprus on their own electric car, named after the professor whose dream was to become a car manufacturer: the Günsel brand. On February 20, 2020, the first prototypes of the fully electric Günsel B9, a two-door hatchback, were launched. Now the company says […]

Miles lands in Antwerp with fleet of 100 shared cars

March 21, 2023

German provider Miles Mobility landed on Tuesday in Antwerp with a fleet of 100 shared cars, all VW Polos and Audi to start. After Ghent, its Belgian introduction, Miles started running a fleet of 100 Opel Corsa models in the capital. With three footholds in Belgium now, one-way trips between the three cities and the […]

DAF rakes in order for 75 fully electric trucks for UK

March 20, 2023

DAF Trucks has raked in a significant order for 1 500 trucks, among which at least 75 fully electric LF and XD trucks, for the British truck rental and leasing company Asset Alliance Group (AAG). With the electric trucks besides the diesel versions, AAG wants to attract new customers in a fast-evolving market for e-trucks, […]

EU toward more independence in critical raw materials

March 17, 2023

Suppose we want all new cars sold beyond 2035 in Europe to be zero-emission. In that case, it will be crucial for the EU to become more independent in mining, refining, and recycling critical raw materials like lithium, of which 21 times more will be needed. That’s only one out of a list of +30 […]

DHL Belgium kickstarts electric transition with 100 Ford e-Transits

March 17, 2023

In its Antwerp hub, DHL Belgium took delivery of its first batch of electric vans. It’s the first step in the company’s goal to deploy an entire zero-emission fleet by 2030. The choice for the Ford e-Transit is no coincidence. DHL was a partner during the product development phase. The hundred zero-emission e-Transit models won’t […]

Fastned: two charging plazas and rest areas along E17 in Gentbrugge

March 15, 2023

Dutch fast-charger company Fastned announced it has won a tender for building two large fast-charging plazas with 12 chargers each along the E17 highway in Gentbrugge (Belgium). As a first, Fastned will be able to equip the EV-charging-only resting area with coffee and sandwich shops, restrooms, and a child playground. The E17 is a crucial […]

Mitsubishi to roll out 16 models including nine ‘xEVs’

March 14, 2023

Japanese carmaker Mitsubishi, the third partner in the Renault-Nissan Alliance, has presented its mid-term strategy, including the rollout of sixteen new models in the next five years, of which ni.’ ‘xEVs’. For Mitsubishi, the latter means a mix of BEVs, HEVs, and PHEVs with four fully battery-electric models in the pipeline. These four include an […]

NIO’s ET5 shooting brake for Europe due for July

March 13, 2023

NIO is planning to launch the shooting brake model of its ET5 sedan, developed for Europe, where estate cars are still popular, in June or July of this year. It appeared in a regulatory directory in China announcing the latest batch of models that will be allowed to be sold. Qin Lihong, co-founder and president […]

Tidbits leaked of BMW’s beefed-up MINI Cooper Electric

March 10, 2023

Although nowhere to find in the official PR communication, some tech tidbits are leaking from BMW via British car magazine Autocar about a beefed-up MINI Cooper Electric, due in 2024. The MINI hatch, rebaptized Cooper, will get bigger batteries than the current 32.6 kWh to stretch the range beyond the somewhat limited 234 km (WLTP) […]

Scandinavians to ship cars over the oceans by wind power

March 03, 2023

Wouldn’t it be a great idea to have today’s giant car carriers sailing the world’s oceans on merely wind power like the square-rigged sailings ships of centuries ago? The modern descendants of the Vikings, with Wallenius Wilhelmsen, a global ro-ro shipping company from Norway, and Swedish carmaker Volvo among others, are dreaming of realizing this […]

T&E: leasing companies overcharge EVs by up to €8.370 in 36 months

March 02, 2023

The ten biggest leasing companies in Europe, managing today a fleet of 12 million vehicles, are ‘overcharging’ electric cars systematically on average by 57% or €233 per month, and €8 370 over 36 months, compared to a similar vehicle on gasoline. They claim lower resale values based on uncertainty on battery degradation, among others. Still, […]

If your dog could choose, he’d prefer an EV over a diesel car

February 27, 2023

Like humans, dogs can suffer from car sickness when traveling, even for short distances. But if your dog had the choice, he’d prefer a smooth-driving electric vehicle over a noisy diesel car. British website CarGurus did the scientific test with the help of Daniel Mills, professor of Veterinary Behavioural Medicine, and his team at the […]

Sono Motors finaly pulls the plug on Sion solar car

February 27, 2023

While the Dutch still struggle to keep their Lightyear solar car project on life support, Sion, the affordable German solar electric vehicle (SEV), is dead. Sono Motors decided to pull the plug on the Sion program just before entering pre-series production. It couldn’t convince new investors despite 45 000 reservations from potential clients. However, the […]

ACEA: ‘42% of EV chargers concentrated in only two countries’

February 24, 2023

The Netherlands remains the country with the highest share of EV-charging infrastructure, with 111 821  chargers or 23,3% of the total number in the EU on its territory. Germany comes in second, with 87 674 public chargers, 18,3% of the total. Together they stand for 41,6% of the EU’s total charging infrastructure today, scattered over […]

Volvo Trucks sold 4.300 electric heavy trucks in 38 countries

February 23, 2023

Since its first fully electric trucks hit the road in 2019, Volvo Trucks has sold more than 4 300 electric trucks worldwide in 38 countries. It claims to be the European market leader in 2022, with a 32% share in the heavy electric truck market and an even greater share in the Americas (US and […]

Belgian high-tech joins forces in aviation solid-state battery

February 22, 2023

Belgian aerospace company Sonaca joins the Limburg-based start-up SOLiTHOR to develop solid-state batteries for regional aviation and future air taxis (VTOLs). Solid-state batteries are lighter, have more energy density, and are considered safer than current lithium-ion batteries with a fluid electrolyte. SOLiTHOR will be responsible for cell research, development, testing characterization, format design, and production […]

Dutch solar car Lightyear finds new millions to reboot

February 21, 2023

Dutch solar carmaker Lightyear, declared bankrupt by the court in January, has managed to find eight more millions with mostly private investors, a group of 225 people around Amsterdam entrepreneur Arnoud Aalbersberg. This might enable the company to reboot if an agreement can be found with the curators to focus on the Lightyear 2 family […]

French show world’s first racing bike on hydrogen

February 20, 2023

French technical study bureau H2 Motronics has developed a fuel cell racing motorbike on hydrogen, which they claim is a world first. The H2K, short for ‘H2 Kompact’, was shown at the Hyvolution exhibit in Paris and is meant as a live demonstrator for the bureau’s technical and innovative project management skills rather than for […]

Nissan’s EV ‘kei’ car to power elevators during blackouts

February 20, 2023

Japanese carmaker Nissan and compatriot Hitachi’s Building Systems Co Ltd. subsidiary have demonstrated in Japan the possibility of keeping elevators running via V2H (vehicle-to-home) power from an electric car in a building during blackouts. In earthquake-prone Japan, the risk of getting stuck in an elevator is not uncommon. For the test, according to Reuters, both […]

Living the battery swap experience: NIO opens 4th station in Netherlands

February 17, 2023

Chinese electric carmaker NIO has opened its fourth battery swap station in the Netherlands, on the outskirts of Utrecht on the A2 highway to Amsterdam. Swapping a 75 or 100-kWh battery underneath the car is a seamless, fully automated process, as we could experience ourselves test-driving the ET7 sedan at the NIO Power Swap station […]

VDL Nedcar to build MINI EV convertible and German Evetta & XBUS

February 16, 2023

The Netherlands’ only car plant with +4 000 employees, VDL Nedcar, announced it would build the modular electric XBUS and the Evetta microcar for German start-up ElectricBrands. Earlier negotiations with American Canoo and Rivian turned out to be a damp squib. VDL Nedcar, in Born, near the Belgian border, is a contract manufacturer for BMW […]

EU wants heavy trucks to reduce CO2 by 90% in 2040

February 15, 2023

While the European Parliament finally ratified on Tuesday in Strasbourg the agreement with the 27 member states to ban all sales of new cars and vans with a combustion engine beyond 2035, heavy trucks and buses were targeted a few hours later by the Commission. They will have to reduce CO2 emissions by 90% in […]

Umicore to venture into cheaper manganese-rich HLM batteries

February 14, 2023

Belgian battery materials specialist Umicore announces it will start industrial production of cheaper manganese-rich HLM battery materials to be used in electric vehicles from 2026, next to its ‘premium’ NMC battery materials. It believes “HLM is gaining traction with car and battery cell manufacturers as a differentiating lower-cost, high energy-density, and sustainable battery technology”. Umicore […]

Fastned opens 19th fast-charging station in Belgium

February 13, 2023

Dutch Fastned has opened last week its 19th fast-charging station in Belgium, located just outside the Antwerp Metropole on the E19 toward Brussels, at the park & ride at Exit 7 in Kontich. The station features eight 300 kW chargers for charging up to 300 km range in fifteen minutes if circumstances are favorable. The […]

ICCT white paper: ‘battery-electric clear path to take for heavy trucks ‘

February 10, 2023

While the EU Commission is preparing a draft on future emission standards for heavy-duty trucks and buses (HDVs), the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) has published in a white paper its findings comparing life assessment greenhouse gas emissions of diesel, gas, bio-fuel, battery-electric, and fuel cell heavy trucks. And the clear winner is… no […]

Coyote drivers slow down for 22.000 ‘identified’ bends

February 09, 2023

Two years after starting the program in June 2020, navigation aid specialist Coyote says it has registered an apparent change in the behavior of its drivers after identifying more than 22 000 dangerous bends on Belgian roads. The navigation aid system warns when you are approaching a dangerous curve, which already resulted in drivers limiting […]

Kearney: ‘carmakers to overshoot +1,5°C climate warming limit by 75%’

February 08, 2023

A new Pathway Report by international consultancy firm Kearney, jointly ordered by electric carmakers Polestar and Rivian, warns that without measures to decarbonize the whole well-to-wheel cycle, carmakers globally will overshoot the +1,5°C climate warming limit set by the IPCC by 75% in 2050. Entirely switching to BEVs across the entire global car fleet and […]

D’Ieteren’s Lucien expands to fourteen bicycle shops

February 06, 2023

Lucien, the bicycle shop chain under the wings of Belgian’s most significant car importer D’Ieteren, is expanding from ten to fourteen shops in Brussels and Antwerp with the recent acquisition of Alpha Bikes (Lasne, Uccle, Woluwe Saint Lambert, and Cyclo Europe (Evere). The rapid scale-up and concentration of car dealerships in Belgium are also seen […]

NIO’s EL7 SUV debuts in EU on Dutch roads

February 03, 2023

Chinese electric carmaker NIO has delivered the first three EL7 models, the SUV variant of its ET7 flagship sedan, in Europe to Dutch customers. All three chose the brand’s subscription formula as an alternative to leasing or buying. That includes battery swapping services (BaaS), a first in Europe. A flexible monthly subscription (VAT excl.) for […]

Battery electric car grabs 12% share of new sales in Europe

February 01, 2023

The battery electric car (BEV) has grown its market share in new car registrations in 2022 with 3% to 12,1% overall. Still, range anxiety apparently drives more Europeans to a classic hybrid (22,6%) instead of electric to replace diesel and gasoline cars. Together, the latter still represent 52,8% of new car sales, even with diesel […]

Florian Kraft new French-German CEO for Stellantis Belux

February 01, 2023

The jostle in job positions at Stellantis Belux continues, as Florian Kraft (39), the Director of Sales & Operations at Peugeot Germany, is taking the wheel as CEO to replace Stephane Levi. Levi, who held the position since March 2021 after being CEO of PSA Belux, is ‘moving on’ within Stellantis to continue his career. […]

Didier Blokland new Director Communications at Stellantis Belux

January 31, 2023

Didier Blokland, until December 2022 Marketing Director for Peugeot at Stellantis Belux and active at Peugeot Belgium for 21 years, is the new Director of Communications, PR & Events of the Belgian importer of the French-Italian-US car brands. He succeeds Dominique Fontignies, who left the company a few months ago. Blokland took up his new […]

Renault launches electric retrofit kit for its vintage cars

January 27, 2023

French automaker Renault has teamed up with compatriot R-FIT to offer, in 2023, electric retrofit kits for its iconic R4, R5, and later also for the first generation of the Twingo. A complete retrofit kit for the Renault 4 costs €11 900, VAT, and installation included. And the government is willing to subsidize it from […]

German Sion solar car buys itself more survival time

January 26, 2023

Munich-based Sono Motors, creators of the Sion solar car, is buying more time to survive by extending its #savesion campaign until the end of February 2023. “As talks with potential investors are in progress”, the founders announce in a press release and a video. So far, they have managed to secure 47 million euros of […]

TEC buses to get green light automatically at intersections

January 26, 2023

By the end of this year, buses and trams of the Belgian public transport company TEC in Wallonia will automatically get a green light when approaching a traffic light at an intersection. This will reduce travel times, causing fewer delays, and as another positive result, allow for fewer emissions if not yet electric. To technically […]

Colruyt tests Estonian delivery robot on Belgian roads (update)

January 25, 2023

On Tuesday, the Colruyt Clevon delivery robot, on test since November last year, has delivered for the first time groceries to a client, 26-year-old Ellen Cools, who lives on the trajectory between the distribution center and the Collect & Go pickup point in Londerzeel. Colruyt has found thirty clients living along the route the robot […]

FUREC project: converting municipal waste into green hydrogen

January 25, 2023

German multinational energy company RWE is building two new plants in the Maastricht-Roermond region in the Netherlands, to produce 54 000 tons of green hydrogen yearly out of 700 000 tons of municipal solid waste that otherwise would have to be incinerated. Hydrogen from non-recyclable solid waste streams saves around 3,6 million tons of CO2 […]

Poppy to tripple fleet of shared cars in Belgium

January 25, 2023

Poppy Mobility, the car, e-scooter, and e-bike sharing daughter of D’Ieteren Automotive, is going to triple its fleet of shared cars from 1 000 to 3 000 in the next months to comply with the growing demand of about 200 000 users, the company announces. Soaring costs of living, the growing part of teleworking, and […]

T&E: ‘Europe can be self-sufficient in EV battery cells by 2027’

January 24, 2023

If we can rely on what battery manufacturers are predicting for the next four years, Europe can be self-sufficient in lithium-ion battery cells for its domestic EV production as soon as 2027, and end its reliance on China. That’s the conclusion of NGO Transport & Environment (T&E) after analyzing all recent announcements. That is if […]

Geely’s SEA platform to underpin new Polish EV brand Izera (update)

January 23, 2023

ElectroMobility Poland (EMP), Poland’s only car manufacturer created in 2016, has postponed the production of its first car under the new Izera brand for the second time until the end of 2025. The state-owned company, which made a technology deal in November 2022 with Chinese Geely for the underpinning of its car, confirmed this to […]

Belgian start-up Veton wraps EV-charger in fashionable design

January 20, 2023

Belgian start-up Veton wants to conquer the world and a growing number of EV owners from its base in Antwerp by wrapping the classic EV-charge pole or wallbox in a sleek, fashionable design with the cable neatly hidden when not in use. As 85% of EV charging is done at home or work, the young […]

Chinese MG launches into hydrogen with Euniq 7 MPV

January 19, 2023

Chinese SAIC daughter MG, the self-appointed heir to Brittain’s iconic sports car brand, has launched into hydrogen, showing the Euniq 7 FCEV at Auto Expo 2023 in Dehli, India. The 5,2-meter long MPV offering seating for seven and a range of 605 km (NEDC) is said to be a demonstration vehicle, as no plans to […]

Punch Group gets EIB loan for hydrogen propulsion development

January 19, 2023

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted the Belgian Punch Group a €40 million finance contract for further developing hydrogen propulsion systems, like fuel cells and the H2 burning engine, as an environmentally friendly successor for the diesel engine. The investments will be made mainly at the company’s headquarters in Turin (Italy), Punch Group says, […]

Battery-maker Britishvolt going belly-up

January 18, 2023

Britishvolt, the UK’s hope of constructing a 30 GWh Gigafactory in Blyth, in the northeast of England, is going belly-up as attempts to find last-minute investors failed. The startup collapsed into administration on Tuesday, and most of the 232 employees were made redundant immediately. Britishvolt had asked the government last year for an advance payment […]

Yescapa: sharing RVs among private individuals gains momentum

January 17, 2023

If there is one sector for which the corona pandemic was a blessing, it is the recreational vehicle (RV) sector. After the first lockdown in 2020, demand skyrocketed in 2021, with a peak in Belgium never seen before. But with 2022 and the Ukraine war, uncertainty and inflation pushed private individuals more than ever to […]

Carrefour starts robot delivery pilot in Belgium

January 17, 2023

After Colruyt started experimenting with an Estonian delivery robot in November, French supermarket chain Carrefour is setting up a pilot in the business park Corporate Village in Zaventem near Brussels with a Turkish-branded autonomous robot. After the first test panel of twenty people, everybody in the Corporate Village will be able, starting next week, to […]

Astara to distribute Spanish Silence scooters and ‘nanocars’ (update)

January 13, 2023

Astara Western Europe, the former Belgian Alcomotive group and importer of Hyundai, Suzuki, MG, SsangYong, and Maxus, also becomes the BeLux distributor for the Spanish Silence scooters and micro-mobility EV, the so-called ‘nanocars’. The latter share an interesting ‘swapping battery’ technology. At the opening of the Brussels Motor Show, Belgian prices were communicated with the […]

Mercedes to drop EQ badge for its electric cars?

January 13, 2023

According to internal sources quoted by the German Handelsblatt, Mercedes-Benz intends to drop its EQ-label it uses to differentiate its electric models from regular ICE cars. As the premium brand plans to go full electric by the end of the decade, it might start doctoring with the labels from 2024 and return to its old […]

Nissan shows Ariya Single Seater Concept in Brussels

January 13, 2023

Nissan has brought its Ariya Single Seater Concept to the Brussels Motor Show, an ‘electric racecar’ conceived as a “high-performance exploration, development, and demonstration project”. It is in fact the dual motor all-wheel drive of Nissan’s second BEV, the Ariya crossover, squeezed into a Formula E-like single-seat racing chassis. It was presented for the first […]

Volvo gears up BEV production in Belgium to 150.000

January 12, 2023

Volvo Car Gent, the Belgian production site pioneering the electric models of the XC40 and the C40 Recharge, is readying the factory to gear up production of fully electric cars (BEVs) to 150 000, compared to just over 70 000 last year. In 2040, this should be 200 000 in an utterly carbon-neutral plant. Volvo […]

Mercedes gets approval for Level 3 autonomous driving in US

January 10, 2023

German carmaker Mercedes-Benz is the first to get official approval for SAE Level 3 autonomous driving in the US, with Nevada taking the lead and California following, most likely soon. The latter was confirmed by the carmaker at CES in Las Vegas last week. It’s the first manufacturer to accomplish this government approval, beating Tesla […]

‘EVs can spare €3.599 per vehicle per year in professional fleet’

January 10, 2023

An electric vehicle replacing one with a classic combustion engine (ICE) can spare a European company today on average €3 599 and 5 560 liters of fuel per year per vehicle. That represents a reduction of 15 tons of CO2 per vehicle, a new report based on telematics data from Webfleet shows. Webfleet is the […]

Sony and Honda unveil Afeela prototype EV (update)

January 10, 2023

Sony Honda Mobility Inc. (SHM) is planning to launch as soon as possible two other models besides the sedan – an SUV and probably an MPV – under the new Afeela EV brand, announced at CES in Las Vegas last week. It would make no sense to limit the brand to one model for the […]

Italdesign envisions with Schindler autonomous shuttle-elevator

January 09, 2023

VW’s design and engineering studio Italdesign has explored the boundaries of autonomous shuttles roaming around future cities. It envisioned, together with Swiss Schindler integrating them into buildings as an elevator capsule. The Climb-E can pick you up on the 30th floor of your apartment building and, once on the street level, drive you to any […]

Dutch solar carmaker opens waiting list for €40.000 Lightyear 2 (update)

January 05, 2023

Hours before the official ‘unveiling’ of the first teaser pictures of its second solar car at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the Dutch scale-up opened on Thursday the waiting list for the Lightyear 2. This one, a more compact ‘grid-independent’ sedan with integrated solar panels and a range of +800 km, gets an […]

Stellantis to step into capital of fuel cell specialist Symbio

January 04, 2023

According to French media, Stellantis Group is considering entering the capital of French fuel cell specialist Symbio, already a supplier of hydrogen systems for the group’s utility vehicles. The current shareholders, automotive supplier Faurecia and tire giant Michelin, announced in December starting of negotiations with Stellantis. “Symbio‘s technology roadmap fits perfectly with Stellantis‘ plans to […]

Turning the car’s entire bumper into 4D imaging radars

January 04, 2023

At the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas, French automotive supplier Plastic Omnium and French deep-tech startup Greenwave are showing a revolutionary way of integrating radar sensors into the entire surface of the car’s bumpers to catch a high-resolution image of its surroundings. The companies claim that far more information can be gathered by […]

Uganda to swap all ICE motorcycles to electric for free

January 03, 2023

Talking about EV incentives, this one from the African country Uganda fires one’s imagination: President Museveni announced in his end-of-the-year address he made a deal with investors to swap all motorcycles with internal combustion engines (ICE) in the country for locally-produced electric ones for free. The investors will be able to make their money by […]

US leaves opening for foreign carmakers to benefit from EV subsidies

December 30, 2022

The United States is leaving an opening for foreign carmakers to benefit from EV tax credits of up to $7 500 under the Inflation Reduction Act. According to the Bloomberg news agency, The US Treasury Department signals in its Frequently Asked Questions list a commercial-vehicle clause in the law that imported EVs can qualify for […]

European car fleet to undercut 116 g/km CO2 WLTP target

December 30, 2022

Europe is well on its way to undercutting by at least three grams the CO2 emission targets of 116 g/km set by the EU for new car registrations in 2022, according to German automotive data analyst Dataforce’s forecast. It is an improvement of six grams compared to the year before (119 g/km). Eventually, the EU […]