August 28, 2026
No diesel clatter, no exhaust fumes, and no engine vibration while creeping up on wildlife. Electric propulsion may be particularly well suited to safari driving, and South African start-up Thula Solutions has designed a rugged 4×4 ‘bakkie’ specifically to exploit those advantages. Its Electric Safari Vehicle, or ESV, is not Africa’s first battery-powered game viewer. […]
August 28, 2026
KU Leuven’s HydroTeam has reached an important milestone on its road to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Its hydrogen-powered prototype has moved under its own power for the first time, completing laps inside Eastech Park in Leuven. That appears to make it Belgium’s first functioning race car powered by a hydrogen combustion engine. The […]
August 27, 2026
Belgian scale-up LIZY, a D’Ieteren subsidiary, has secured more than €300 million to expand its second-hand leasing model in Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. But the bigger story is what happens to the first mass wave of electric company cars when their initial lease contracts end. The package is mainly debt: about €290 million from […]
August 27, 2026
Xiaomi has taken another concrete step towards becoming a global carmaker. The tech giant, often referred to as the ‘Chinese Apple’, has launched a dedicated international website and overseas social-media channels for Xiaomi Auto. The site is explicitly stating that its cars are “officially coming to Europe in 2027”. More tellingly, the site already includes […]
August 26, 2026
Waymo is heading for Munich. Alphabet subsidiary will start mapping the Bavarian capital in the coming weeks and aims to open a fully driverless ride-hailing service toward the end of 2027. It will be Waymo’s first commercial incursion into the EU, starting symbolically in BMW’s home town. Initially, there will still be people behind the […]
August 26, 2026
Renault says it will not follow the industry trend of putting virtually every function behind a touchscreen. Physical buttons and switches will remain part of its interiors, even though the French manufacturer admits they are more expensive. The reasoning is simple: frequently used functions should stay within easy reach so drivers can keep their eyes […]
August 26, 2026
Hyundai is preparing the biggest product offensive in its history, with more than 100 launches and model updates planned worldwide by 2030, including 41 for Europe alone. But behind the headline lies a more interesting strategy: the Korean group no longer wants to bet on a single drivetrain everywhere. North America will lean on hybrids, […]
August 26, 2026
Four months ago, Newmobility.news wondered whether Dreame’s rocket-powered hypercar was simply “too good to be true”. We now have an answer. Yes. The Chinese vacuum-cleaner manufacturer is dismantling its car business, while former employees reveal that the spectacular vehicles used to promote it were far from functioning prototypes, as Dreame suggested. This wasn’t entirely a […]
August 25, 2026
Renault is already giving its electric R5 a surprisingly substantial technical update less than two years after launch. The headline figure is a longer 430-kilometer range, opening at the bottom of the range. Renault is introducing LFP battery technology in the R5 for the first time, making its cheapest version more powerful and finally giving […]
August 24, 2026
Two months after MG unveiled its new 07 fastback in China, the car has turned into an instant hit. SAIC’s British-born brand says it secured more than 10,000 firm orders in just one minute and 57 seconds after opening the books. Total pre-orders climbed from 45,000 on launch day to 59,000 the next day. MG […]
August 22, 2026
Buying a car is no longer simply a matter of comparing sticker prices. An electric car may cost more to buy but less to run, a hybrid can save fuel without requiring a charger, and a cheap used car may lose little value but require more maintenance. Taxes can alter the picture again, especially in […]
August 21, 2026
If you hail a Waymo in San Francisco today, there is a growing chance that a Chinese-built, Swedish-designed Zeekr will turn up instead of the familiar Jaguar I-Pace. Waymo has now opened its new Ojai robotaxi to regular paying customers after California regulators cleared the vehicle for commercial driverless rides. The rollout marks a major […]
August 20, 2026
Volvo Car Gent has to start looking for a new plant director less than a year after Magnus Nilsson took charge. But his departure may be better news for the Belgian factory than it first appears. From September 1, Nilsson becomes Volvo Cars’ Chief Manufacturing Officer and joins the Executive Management Team, just as Ghent […]
August 20, 2026
Belgium’s EV sector is urging the federal government to launch a social-leasing scheme for electric cars from 2027, with both new and used EVs eligible. Sector federation EV Belgium says lower-income households that depend on a car for work should have access to affordable financing, allowing them to benefit from lower running costs rather than […]
August 19, 2026
From September 1, Flanders will take a radically different approach to technical vehicle inspections from that of Brussels in Wallonia. Ordinary passenger cars will only have to be checked every two years, regardless of age or mileage. The move brings Flanders closer to the European minimum and countries such as Germany and France. Still, it […]
August 19, 2026
Geely has put a firm date on the Benelux launch of its compact E2 electric hatchback. The Chinese bestseller will arrive at official dealers in Belgium and the Netherlands on September 11 and 12, sharpening the European rollout announced earlier this month. The launch date was shared by Geely’s director of sales & network Benelux, […]
August 18, 2026
Europe has tightened the rules governing what happens to a car throughout its life. Since 13 August, the new European Vehicle Circularity Regulation has been in force, requiring manufacturers not only to recycle vehicles but also to design them for easier dismantling and reuse, and to feed recovered materials back into new cars. Belgium starts […]
August 18, 2026
Geely founder Li Shufu is stepping back from the listed carmaker as it accelerates in Europe, handing the chairmanship to An Conghui and the CEO role to Gan Jiayue while remaining chairman of parent Zhejiang Geely Holding. It coincides with a major change in Geely’s international strategy. The group no longer wants to rely mainly […]
August 17, 2026
NIO has opened the first of its fifth-generation battery-swap stations in China, finally giving the compact Firefly access to the company’s swapping network. It is an important step for NIO’s technology, but one European Firefly owners should not get too excited about. In Belgium and the Netherlands, swapping is unlikely to become part of the […]
August 14, 2026
Volkswagen is finally turning the ID. Buzz into a factory-built electric camper. At the Caravan Salon in Düsseldorf later this month, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles will unveil the ID. California Cruise. It’s a concept that previews not merely one model but a new family of battery-electric California campers planned for gradual introduction toward 2028. In a way, […]
August 14, 2026
Chinese premium EV brand Zeekr has appointed Dieter Hannes as Country Manager for Belgium and Luxembourg, effective 12 August. His arrival marks a new phase for the Geely-owned brand, shifting up one gear. After spending its first months building a dealer network and making itself known, Zeekr now has to convert that footprint into meaningful […]
August 13, 2026
To European eyes, the Ti 3 looks almost as if BYD has put 30 years of compact 4×4 design into a blender. There is plenty of five-door first-generation Toyota RAV4 in its proportions, some Opel Frontera in the upright flanks and chunky wheel arches, and touches of Suzuki Vitara and Land Rover Defender in the […]
August 13, 2026
After more than a decade of pouring money into its distinctive yellow-roofed charging stations, Fastned says the investment is finally beginning to pay off. The Dutch company’s existing network is generating considerably more cash, even while it continues building new stations across Europe. Belgium is becoming one of its main expansion markets. Fastned’s charging revenue increased […]
August 13, 2026
At 654 km/h, most aircraft would already have been airborne long before. Andy Green’s job was the opposite: keep four wheels firmly on the Bonneville Salt Flats while pushing a hydrogen-powered machine to a new world speed record. The 64-year-old Briton, who in 1997 became the first and so far only person to break the […]
August 12, 2026
BYD’s latest Seal 06 is becoming much more relevant to Europe than the bargain-priced Chinese EV we wrote about last year. The 2027 model combines a larger battery, 800-volt architecture, much faster charging, and up to 630 km of Chinese range, while its domestic entry price has barely moved. When BYD launched the full-electric Seal […]
August 12, 2026
Renault is testing a new way of stopping drunk drivers before they even move: putting a finger on a sensor could be enough to determine whether someone has had too much to drink. The idea sounds futuristic, but it is not entirely new. Car makers and researchers have been experimenting with alternatives to the traditional […]
August 12, 2026
The Belgian army will stop buying Chinese-built service cars for its top brass from September, citing growing concerns over espionage and cybersecurity. The decision means the DS 9, a French-branded luxury saloon built exclusively in China, will no longer be procured for the general staff. The case illustrates how quickly the security debate around connected […]
August 11, 2026
The thick owner’s manual buried somewhere in the glovebox may finally have met its natural predator: artificial intelligence. Ford now wants an AI assistant that knows your car, explains what is wrong, and eventually lives in the dashboard like a virtual mechanic. There is just one awkward comparison. Chinese premium EV brand NIO’s little round-headed […]
August 11, 2026
BYD has officially revealed the Fang Cheng Bao Ti9, a giant six-seat plug-in hybrid SUV. It features two 200 kW electric motors, a 66.5 kWh battery, and one particularly intriguing figure for Europe: its maximum authorized mass is 3,495 kg, just five kilograms below the 3.5-ton limit for a standard Category B driving license. For […]
August 10, 2026
Mitsubishi Motors is preparing to enter the humanoid robot race on an unusually ambitious scale. Together with University of Tokyo spin-off Highlanders, the Japanese carmaker plans to develop and mass-produce humanoid robots at its Kyoto plant, with production targeted for early 2027 and capacity eventually reaching up to 1,000 units a month. The project goes […]
August 10, 2026
Zero Motorcycles is offering newly licensed European riders up to €500 to choose electric, as the American manufacturer tries to expand its customer base, just as competition in electric motorcycles starts getting more serious. Under its 2026 Rider Training Incentive, anyone buying a Zero within three months of obtaining an A1, A2, or full A […]
August 10, 2026
BMW is starting production of the new i3 this month with a claim that is less spectacular than range, acceleration, or charging speed, but potentially more important for the future of the car industry. Its Neue Klasse electronics architecture cuts around 600 meters of wiring and concentrates much of the car’s computing power in just […]
August 07, 2026
At 11:00 on Friday morning, Hyundai Belux announced a new blacked-out flagship version of the Ioniq 9. At 11:02, Kia Belux followed with a Black Edition of the EV9. Two minutes apart, two large three-row electric SUVs, two black editions, and two brands belonging to the same Hyundai Motor Group. Coincidence? The interesting part is […]
August 07, 2026
Daimler Truck is preparing a major expansion of its North American manufacturing footprint. The German truck maker will build a new factory in the United States for vocational and long-haul trucks, with construction due to start late this year and production scheduled for 2029. The location has not yet been decided, with Daimler Truck North […]
August 07, 2026
Ford has put a name and a price on the first model from its radically simplified new electric-car platform. The Ford Fathom, a compact-to-midsize electric pickup, will start at $28,350 in the United States, or $29,945 including destination charges, when deliveries begin in the fall of 2027. That makes the five-seat Fathom almost as cheap […]
August 07, 2026
Just over nine weeks before its official premiere at the Paris Motor Show, the new Smart #2 has been exposed by Chinese regulatory filings. The virtually undisguised production car appears six weeks after Smart Europe CEO Wolfgang Ufer told Newmobility.news that it would initially be built in China, but European production will definitely be discussed. […]
August 07, 2026
A Dutch study arguing that governments should subsidize electric lease cars for low-income, car-dependent households rather than cut fuel taxes for everyone could also feed the debate in Belgium. Vooruit and opposition party Ecolo have both proposed versions of French-style social leasing, with EVs available for roughly €100 to €150 per month, but the idea […]
August 06, 2026
Belgium’s leading automotive organizations are preparing to move into a common headquarters in Diegem. FEBIAC says its twenty employees will transfer to the new House of Mobility from October 1, with the official inauguration scheduled for November 26. The federation of vehicle manufacturers and importers is driving the project, which will unite manufacturers, leasing companies, […]
August 06, 2026
Kia has barely entered Europe’s commercial-vehicle market, yet its first electric van is already outselling models from manufacturers with decades of experience. According to figures quoted by Kia UK, the PV5 accounted for 37% of Europe’s battery-electric small-van segment and ranked first in 12 countries, including Germany and the United Kingdom. Electric C-segment only The […]
August 06, 2026
BMW has started series production of the new electric i3 at its historic Munich plant, describing the launch as a steep ramp-up driven by strong demand. The electric sports saloon is the second production model of the Neue Klasse after the iX3 and the first to be built in Germany. Customer deliveries are due to […]
August 06, 2026
Donald Trump has diagnosed millions of electric-car drivers with a new illness: worrying about where to charge. At a rally in Las Vegas on Wednesday, the US President claimed that EV owners suffer from a “disease” that apparently begins when their battery is still three-quarters full. Speaking at the Red Rock Resort, Trump said he […]
August 05, 2026
Audi has removed most of the camouflage from the upcoming A2 e-tron, but the bigger news is beneath the skin. The manufacturer has released its first detailed technical dossier on the compact EV, confirming that the 140 kW version with an optional efficiency package consumes just 12.8 kWh per 100 kilometers according to preliminary WLTP […]
August 05, 2026
Renault Group has returned to profit in the first half of 2026, helped by rapidly rising electric car sales and a richer product mix. However, the figures also reveal how thin the margins on building cars remain. Mobilize Financial Services, the group’s captive finance arm, generated almost as much operating profit as Renault’s entire automotive […]
August 04, 2026
A team of students from Eindhoven University of Technology has unveiled a solar-powered mobile clinic designed to bring medical care to remote regions where roads are poor and electricity supplies unreliable. Called ‘Stella Juva’, the vehicle is presented by Solar Team Eindhoven as the world’s first solar-powered ambulance, although it functions more like a self-sufficient […]
August 04, 2026
Leapmotor is preparing to launch the A05 in China on August 10, a compact electric hatchback that will be sold internationally as the B03. With dimensions close to the Geely E2, two LFP batteries, and a potential European price near €20,000, it could become one of the sharpest value propositions in Europe’s affordable EV market. […]
August 04, 2026
Four months after Hyundai unveiled the Ioniq 3 at Milan Design Week, the compact electric ‘Aero Hatch’ now has its first European price list. Dutch customers can order it from €27,995, with showroom arrival expected at the end of September. Belgium will follow, but Hyundai Belux says only that local prices will be announced “after […]
August 03, 2026
Only two months after VinFast invited European journalists to explore its integrated industrial empire in Vietnam, with a range of electric cars, buses, and scooters, another part of that ecosystem has landed in Europe. Green SM, the electric taxi company controlled by VinFast founder Phạm Nhật Vượng, began operating in Copenhagen on July 30 with […]
July 31, 2026
Electric car sales recovered strongly in the second quarter of 2026, with Europe emerging as the fastest-growing major market. However, Belgium’s figures reveal a more nuanced picture. The country remains one of Europe’s leaders in battery-electric market share, but growth is slowing, and adoption remains heavily dependent on company cars. The latest figures come from […]
July 30, 2026
Stellantis returned to profit in the first half of 2026 as higher volumes and an improvement in North America lifted revenue, but its margins and cash generation still lag behind most European rivals. Second-quarter revenue increased by 13% to €43.5 billion, while shipments rose by 10%. Stellantis posted a net profit of €293 million, compared […]
July 30, 2026
Hyundai Motor Group is bringing its smart and bidirectional charging activities together under the new global AllDayEnergy brand. In the future, the platform could allow Hyundai and Kia owners to charge when electricity is cheapest, store surplus solar power in their cars, supply part of that energy back to their homes, and potentially earn money […]
July 30, 2026
BMW Group is stepping up cost reductions and organizational reforms after a sharp deterioration in profitability during the first half of 2026. The German premium carmaker insists that demand remains healthy in Europe and that its Neue Klasse electric offensive is gaining momentum. Still, weaker sales and pricing in China, tariffs, and rising depreciation are […]
July 29, 2026
Europe’s commercial vehicle market returned to growth in the first half of 2026, but the recovery was uneven. According to ACEA, new van registrations in the EU rose by only 1.9% to 742,759 units, while truck registrations increased by 9.8% to 171,933 and buses and coaches by 22.7% to 22,590. The stronger figures in trucks […]
July 29, 2026
Zeekr has confirmed the European and Belgian launch of the 9X, a 5.24-meter luxury SUV that marks a major change of direction for the Geely-owned brand. Until now, Zeekr has presented itself in Europe as an electric-only premium brand. Its new flagship is a plug-in hybrid combining a 55.1 kWh battery, two electric motors, and […]
July 28, 2026
BYD has released the first official production images of the Da Han, a huge electric flagship saloon that moves the Chinese manufacturer into territory occupied in Europe by the Mercedes EQS, BMW i7, and Lucid Air. The model will make its public debut at the Chengdu Motor Show in August and sits above the existing […]
July 27, 2026
Toyota has signed a binding agreement to acquire a 33% stake in Cellcentric, the fuel-cell joint venture formed by Daimler Truck and Volvo Group. The deal turns the non-binding memorandum announced in March into a firm transaction and underlines that three of the world’s largest vehicle manufacturers still see a future for hydrogen in heavy […]
July 27, 2026
Lynk & Co has launched the 07 GT in China, a high-performance plug-in hybrid wagon with up to 523 hp and a claimed electric range of 200 km. More importantly for European buyers, the Geely-owned brand has confirmed that the model is planned for Europe in 2027. The 07 GT measures 4.85 meters in length, […]
July 27, 2026
Volvo Cars has applied to register the EX50 name in Europe, fuelling speculation that the Swedish manufacturer is preparing a new electric SUV to replace the current EX40. Such a model would be particularly important for Belgium, as the EX40 is built at Volvo’s Ghent factory, while the company’s new plant in Košice, Slovakia, has […]
July 27, 2026
France has publicly opposed the approval of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Supervised system in its current form, complicating the company’s attempt to secure EU-wide recognition for its most advanced driver-assistance software. French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said the technology offers progress, but the remaining safety risks remain too significant. His comments mark the first open rejection […]
July 24, 2026
BMW is developing its own software platform for future humanoid factory workers. At its Landshut component plant, the carmaker is developing a modular software stack that connects production data, artificial intelligence, and robots from different suppliers. Rather than building a BMW-branded rival to Tesla’s Optimus or XPeng’s IRON, it wants to control how humanoid robots […]
July 23, 2026
BYD’s premium Denza brand has revealed the cabin of the new Z9S, a 1,194 hp electric sports saloon positioned against the Porsche Taycan, Lucid Air, and Audi e-tron GT. Closely related to the Denza Z9GT, now available to order in Belgium from €101,000 as a plug-in hybrid and €115,000 as an EV, the Z9S is […]
