September 25, 2025
Van Mossel, a major player in the automotive sector and acting as a dealer for 32 car brands, is proud to announce the official opening of its brand-new Used Cars Center in Lokeren. “This impressive branch is immediately the largest indoor used car center in Belgium, with a range of more than 300 carefully selected […]
September 24, 2025
ACEA, the European car manufacturers’ federation, remains cautiously optimistic about its economic outlook, with the European economy expected to grow by 1.1% in 2025, followed by a rise to 1.5% in 2026 amid trade tensions and the United States’ tariff changes. Inflation is forecast to ease from 2.3% in 2025 to an average of 1.9% […]
September 24, 2025
The Zeekr 001, which we first drove in 2023, was never a weakling to begin with, but now it’s had another dose of steroids. In China, the updated version for 2026 is presented with a power boost from 400 kW (544 hp EU specs) to 680 kW (912 hp) for the two-motor version. This makes […]
September 23, 2025
In June 2025, Chery, China’s largest vehicle exporter, announced a second model in Belgium, alongside the Omoda 5 (ICE and EV), the flagship SUV, the Omoda 9 SHS. Now it’s here to order, priced at €52.900 for those cautiously entering the world of electric driving to soothe their eco-consciousness, but secretly like to keep their […]
September 22, 2025
Chinese MG, although a forerunner in Europe when it comes to EVs, is going for the path of least resistance to make a little money on the side, feeding on the current anti-EV attitude of a certain (general) buyer public. It’s called the HS Hybrid+. This one, offered in two trims, Comfort (from €34,285) and […]
September 22, 2025
BYD’s latest version of its luxury sports car, the Yangwang U9 Xtreme, has set a new record as the world’s fastest production car, clocking a top speed of 496.22 km per hour (308.34 mph) at the ATP test facility, an independent automotive proving ground in Papenburg, Germany. Many passenger planes lift the nose for takeoff […]
September 22, 2025
While other premium manufacturers who used to tout their commitment to zero-emission mobility are changing their tune to extend the life of their ICE models as long as possible, BMW persists. The company confirms again that the new BMW X5 will be the first model to offer customers a choice of battery electric, plug-in hybrid, […]
September 18, 2025
Four years after the Japanese carmaker virtually disappeared from the European market, Mitsubishi is back. Thursday evening, it landed in Brussels for the world premiere of the Eclips Cross EV, a fully electric C-segment SUV fitting Europe’s current most-wanted car type, built in the Alliance Ampere (Renault) factory of Douai, France. A rebirth in two […]
September 17, 2025
Dutch fast-charging network Fastned has just opened its 47th charging station in Belgium. Fastned Gentbrugge, along the E17 highway between Ghent and Antwerp, is the largest to date and a ‘flagship’ location. It showcases the company’s aim to deliver a more seamless charging experience, featuring a coffee stop and sanitary facilities throughout its entire network […]
September 17, 2025
Volkswagen Group’s premium Audi brand is fighting back in the world’s largest car market with a range of new, more extended versions of its models under the joint SAIC-AUDI (styled in all capitals) brand. And the first of the line-up for mass production, the E5 Sportback is hot: 10,153 orders within 30 minutes of launch […]
September 17, 2025
The Alliance isn’t dead. After a shaky post-Gosn period, it’s slimmer, rebalanced, and focused on joint EV projects in the Ampere Douai facility while letting each company keep its independence. The top meeting of Ivan Espinosa, CEO of Nissan, Takao Kato, CEO of Mitsubishi Motors, with Renault’s new boss, François Provost, and Alliance Chairman Jean-Dominique […]
September 16, 2025
In Graz, Austria, the first European-assembled models of the Chinese Xpeng G6 and G9 have rolled off the production line. The factory will initially assemble the two SUV models, but additional Xpeng vehicles are in the planning for the future. For Xpeng, which started selling in Norway in 2021 and has since expanded to over […]
September 15, 2025
At last Friday’s highly anticipated meeting of European carmakers with the EU Commission, President Ursula von der Leyen didn’t give in to the pressure to question the 2035 phase-out date of CO2-emitting cars and vans. Still, it was agreed to forward the formal review of the 2035 rules from 2026 to the end of 2025. […]
September 12, 2025
After announcing it at the end of August, Chinese Dreame Technology has unveiled the first render images of the electric supercar it wants to build to challenge other supercars like Bugatti. And you might even see ‘some resemblance’ to the actual Bugatti Chiron, successor to the Veyron. Dreame has ambitions to build this car even […]
September 11, 2025
In its latest report published on Wednesday, the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) concludes Europe is close to being on track to meet its near-to‐mid-term vehicle emission goals. The report says only a relatively small further reduction in fleet CO₂ emissions – some 9 grams CO₂/km- is needed to hit the interim target for […]
September 10, 2025
Some analysts say IAA Munich looks more like a Shanghai auto show extension these days, as Chinese brands are all competing for European customers’ favor. The Seres-Huawei joint venture adds some more heat by unleashing three Aito-rebranded crossovers on the Old Continent. Contrary to the low-budget Seres 3 we know in Belgium today, Aito is […]
September 09, 2025
Turkish carmaker Togg has seized the opportunity of the IAA motor show in Munich to restart its European offensive, focusing first on Germany with its Pininfarina co-designed T10X SUV and a EU-first unveiled T10F five-door sedan sibling. Togg confirmed that orders for both the T10X and T10F will begin in Germany at the end of […]
September 08, 2025
Horse Powertrain, the Renault-Geely joint venture founded in 2023-2024 to develop next-generation low-emission powertrains, has presented a new ultra-compact range extender system at IAA Mobility 2025, the Horse C15. Why does it matter? REEVs (Range-Extended EVs) offer a pragmatic middle ground between battery-only and hybrid drives, with a gasoline engine used as a generator only […]
September 05, 2025
Charging your car at home on an inductive charging pad like the one for your smartphone, but somewhat bigger. Porsche will be demoing an 11 kW inductive charging solution next week at the IAA motor show in Munich, to be used with the upcoming full-electric Cayenne in 2026. Porsche claims it will be the first […]
September 04, 2025
It definitely sounds Chinese in Western ears: Xpeng. Still, it’s steadily making a name for itself, with G9 SUV, G6 SUV, and P7 sedan in over 20 European countries, with aggressive expansion plans aiming to enter 60 global markets by the end of 2025. We drove two of them on German roads, the refreshed midsize […]
September 03, 2025
Toyota announced on Wednesday that the first battery electric vehicle (BEV) to be built in Europe will come from the Czech Republic. It pumps an additional €680 million into its Kolin facility to expand it for BEV production. Currently, this plant builds the Aygo X and Yaris Hybrid. The carmaker previously indicated plans to launch nine […]
September 01, 2025
It’s here and it looks good, especially in bright yellow: the newest version of Volkswagen’s bestseller, the T-Roc. It is significantly larger, which translates into more rear-seat space and larger boot space, as well as premium tech from its larger siblings, such as the Tiguan, but still not electric. However, this might be the last […]
August 27, 2025
A first-of-its-kind cradle-to-grave Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study by the University of Michigan and Ford, spanning vehicle types, classes, regions, and usage patterns, shows once again that battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) are always the greener choice when comparing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. No matter where you live in the US. Across regions and methods worldwide, recent […]
August 26, 2025
A new online survey by the market research access panel, PanelWizzard, with 1,010 drivers, shows that one in three Dutch people prefers driving a Chinese car over an American car like Tesla or Ford to date. “Chinese brands are on the rise in Europe. We see that in our showrooms as well, and to be […]
August 26, 2025
Chinese premium EV maker Nio has revealed the new price of the third-generation flagship SUV ES8 (sold as the EL8 in Europe), the biggest electric SUV on the market, and while the car is bigger and supposed to be better on the new 900-volt platform, the price is cut by 101,800 yuan (€12,155) or 25% […]
August 22, 2025
Chinese electric cars tend to be sold at half the price in their homeland than in Europe. If a company like China EV Marketplace announces it is launching a new door-to-door service for European customers, enabling them to purchase road-legal EVs directly from China, and handling most of the annoying stuff for you, is it […]
August 21, 2025
South Korean carmaker Kia has started production of its EV4 full-electric hatchback at its Žilina plant in Slovakia. It’s the first Kia electric vehicle to be manufactured in Europe, although the factory itself opened in 2004, in a land that has rapidly become a ‘magnet’ for car factories. And there are good reasons why. Designed […]
August 20, 2025
According to the French 24-hour rolling news channel, BFM TV, there is growing concern among Renault staff about possible drone production in France or Ukraine, as first suggested by the government in June. The channel, one of France’s most-watched news channels similar to CNN or Sky News, quoted a Force Ouvrière union representative saying: “Many […]
August 19, 2025
A new P3 analysis published this week finds today’s EVs need ~95,000 km to ~120,000 km on the average EU grid to offset their higher production footprint. Innovations in battery manufacturing, renewable energy, and recycling could cut the break-even distance to ~50,000 km or even below 30,000 km with 100% renewable charging. Compared to other […]
August 18, 2025
Norwegian customers in Oslo, Stavanger, and Dutch customers in Utrecht are the first in Europe to get their NIO Firefly, a subcompact rear-motor, rear-wheel-drive hatchback with a 105 kW motor and 330 km of WLTP range. With a price of €29,900, it is to challenge Renault’s 5 e-Tech or the Fiat 500e and the upcoming […]
August 14, 2025
A new study by the German Insurance Association (GDV) challenges some entrenched, widely shared preconceptions about electric cars (EVs) being more accident-prone than cars with a classic combustion engine (ICE). They are equal in accident frequency and damage, GDV says. And the gap in actual repair costs after an accident is currently shrinking, averaging now […]
August 13, 2025
The world’s largest battery maker, CATL, has launched CTP-battery repairs in China through its Ning Service independent aftermarket brand, costing only a fraction – typically 10 to 20% – of a complete battery pack replacement. Affordable battery repair can be a Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) game-changer for electric cars, reducing depreciation, preventing catastrophic repair […]
August 12, 2025
According to Chinese media, Renault is entering a new stage of collaboration with Geely by having its Shanghai R&D team look into using the Chinese carmaker’s new GEA platform to develop new EVs and PHEVs for ’emerging overseas markets’. That’s merely South Korea, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and North Africa. The news wasn’t officially confirmed […]
August 11, 2025
Zeekr’s 9X SUV, the Swedish-Chinese brand’s first plug-in after a series of fully electric cars, breaks cover as China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has published a new list of approved vehicles that will enter the Chinese market. And everything about this SUV is one size up: not only the dimensions, 5,239 mm […]
August 08, 2025
American carmaker Ford is building up suspense in anticipation of what its CEO, Jim Farley, called the company’s upcoming “Model T moment”, referring to August 11th when a new platform for affordable EVs is to be presented. Ahead of that event, Ford just opened a new EV design campus in the historic buildings of Douglas […]
August 07, 2025
According to specialized media like Autocar, quoting inside sources at Volkswagen, the German carmaker plans to kill off the Touareg in 2026 after 24 years heading its 4×4 model line with no direct replacement. Volkswagen is said to focus instead on high-volume models shortly. The ID.5, a sleeker, coupe‑style derivative of the popular ID.4, officially […]
August 07, 2025
Looking for a motorboat that no longer spews clouds of diesel fumes? If you have some $6,450 million (€552 million) to spare, ‘presumed owner’ Bill Gates is putting the ‘Breaktrough’, his 118-meter-long superyacht, up for sale. It’s brand-new and the world’s first ‘zero-emission’ one, utilizing green hydrogen. And apparently, Gates himself never stepped aboard, but […]
August 06, 2025
SAIC Motor is launching the newest version of the popular MG4 hatchback in China, starting at a stunt price of ¥73,800 or some €10,266. That’s nearly half the price – 47.21% lower – than that of the outgoing model, which cost ¥ 139,800 or €19,308. It fuels expectations for a more affordable European successor for […]
August 05, 2025
A joint study by public research university RWTH Aachen and The Mobility House Energy, a German technology company specializing in smart charging solutions and energy management for electric vehicles (EVs), confirms there is only a negligible impact of Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) bidirectional charging on batteries. The researchers emphasize that there is still much discussion about the […]
August 04, 2025
From 8 to 12 October, BMW is showing ten of the most iconic M Art Cars from the BMW Art Car World Tour in Belgium, at the Zoute Grand Prix in Knokke-Heist. One of the most well-known of the collection is the M1 Andy Warhol painted in 1979 in only 28 minutes, splashing six kilograms […]
August 04, 2025
Last Friday, BMW Group officially started the series production of its sixth-generation (Gen6) electric motors at the Steyr plant in Austria. These will power the upcoming Neue Klasse models, including the next-generation iX3. Built on the new architecture, the iX3 50 xDrive is the inaugural model to utilize this platform, which is designed exclusively for electric […]
August 04, 2025
Mitsubishi Motors is resuming sales of new cars in Belgium through its Dutch subsidiary, starting in Q4 2025 after four years of inactivity in Europe. The latest offensive will begin with the world premiere in Brussels on September 17 of the fully electric Eclipse Cross, alongside a new Grandis SUV in Mild and Full Hybrid […]
July 31, 2025
The Leapmotor B10 is a compact C-segment electric SUV designed for global markets. Still, especially with the European market in mind, it is intended to offer a blend of performance, technology, and affordability. On Wednesday, ordering opened in most European countries where the Chinese brand is imported by Stellantis, at a starting price of just […]
July 31, 2025
The 15% US import tariff agreed by Donald Trump and Ursula von der Leyen will significantly impact the financial performance and strategic decisions of Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and Porsche among German premium carmakers. These brands are operating with tighter margins and have begun raising prices in the US, typically by 2-3%, to pass on some of […]
July 30, 2025
BYD’s premium luxury brand Denza is prepping its European launch with Z9 GT sales starting in Q4 2025, followed by the hybrid version and D9 MPV in early 2026. It appears that the brand is preparing a four-seater convertible Z9 variant, as Chinese media have spotted it in Suzhou, a city with over 10 million […]
July 29, 2025
Samsung is positioning itself as a full-spectrum AI chip supplier, securing a €16.6 billion deal to manufacture Tesla’s next-generation AI6 chip at Samsung’s new Taylor, Texas, factory. Production is expected to begin in 2026, while the deal runs through the end of 2033. The AI6 chip is designed for use in Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) […]
July 29, 2025
CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.), the world’s largest battery maker with roughly a 38% global market share in electric vehicle (EV) batteries, stands out on the water, powering China’s largest fully electric tourist boat. The Yujian 77, China’s first fully electric offshore tourist vessel for 358 passengers, is powered by CATL’s marine-grade batteries with a total […]
July 28, 2025
Leapmotor, distributed in Europe by Stellantis, has launched its B01 electric sedan in China, priced from 89,800 yuan (approximately € 10,685) to 119,800 yuan (approximately €14,255) for the top-trim version, offering a 650 km range and LiDAR-based ADAS. In Europe, Stellantis is selling the A-segment T03 electric city car (~€18,600) and a mid-size SUV C10, […]
July 25, 2025
According to Chinese media, battery maker Svolt Energy has started the first trial production of semi-solid-state batteries that will supply BMW Mini’s next-generation models. These are expected to be delivered ‘en masse’ to begin around 2027. BMW added Svolt in mid‑2023, as its third major Chinese battery supplier, alongside CATL and Eve Energy. These newly […]
July 25, 2025
SAIC Motor, the parent company of the MG brand, has officially posted the first pictures of the all-new MG4’s interior on Weibo, China’s microblogging platform, often described as a combined alternative to Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit. Gone are most physical buttons below the screen for key controls from the outgoing generation, with just five core […]
July 24, 2025
More bad news for Tesla, as expected. The Californian carmaker posted net earnings of $1.17 billion in the latest quarter, a 16% decrease compared with the same period last year. Revenue fell 12% to $22.5 billion, slightly below analysts’ expectations of about $22.7 billion. On top of sputtering sales comes a significant drop in regulatory […]
July 24, 2025
Green hydrogen ‘distilled’ directly from the air without any emissions, using free solar energy, anywhere in the world, even at the most remote places: it looks genius. And it’s there. Belgian startup Solhyd has outgrown the lab and presented its SM500 module, which can help ramp up to megawatt-scale production. It’s ready for the big […]
July 23, 2025
BYD’s Senior Vice President, Stella Li, who leads the European business for the Chinese automaker, has confirmed to British magazine Autocar that the luxury sub-brand Yangwang is set to launch in Europe. The official launch is planned for 2026, following the introduction of Denza, and will be supported by European production facilities and expanded dealership […]
July 23, 2025
Kia has announced a price for its EV4, its mainstream C-segment EV sedan/hatchback, bridging the gap between mass-market value models (like the upcoming EV2) and higher-tier EVs, such as the EV6 and EV9. Ordering opens today, with the first deliveries scheduled for October. The EV4 hatchback, specifically designed for the European market, is available in […]
July 18, 2025
In China, the first official pictures have emerged of Smart’s first plug-in hybrid (PHEV), a version of its latest and largest model, the #5 SUV—a significant shift for a brand that was initially committed to being BEV-only. The Smart #5 EHD (Electric Hybrid Drive) was confirmed by Smart on Thursday, for the Chinese market only, […]
July 17, 2025
The dream of driving a vehicle on clean and ‘affordable’ hydrogen is further sputtering as Stellantis Group announced it will stop development of its light commercial hydrogen vehicles. The series production of a new range of hydrogen–powered vans, which was due to start this summer in Hordain (France) and Gliwice (Poland), has been cancelled. The […]
July 16, 2025
Toyota Motor Europe (TME) says it saw record first-half-year sales in Europe of 635,328 vehicles, of which 491,197 were ‘electrified’. According to TME, “A key factor was continued solid demand for Toyota and Lexus electrified vehicles, which expanded by +6% year-on-year and now represent 77% of TME’s total sales mix.” However, ‘electrified’ in Toyota’s words […]
July 15, 2025
According to Chinese media, BMW has signed a deal with leading Chinese autonomous-driving technology company Momenta for its Neue Klasse smart driving systems (ADAS). Momenta will provide localized L2/L3 smart driving software, including city and highway navigation systems trained on Chinese roads with specific infrastructure. It’s not uncommon for a Western carmaker to work with a […]
July 14, 2025
Xpeng, distributed in most EU countries by Hedin Mobility Group, is opening the order books of the new G6 and G9 in Europe from this week on. The G6 Long Range is available from €46,990 in Belgium and €45,990 in Luxembourg, the G9 Long Range retails from €63,990 and €61,990. The G6 and G9 Standard […]
July 11, 2025
Kia Belux has released specs and put a price on the electric Passenger version of its new PV5, part of the Purpose‑Built Vehicle (PBV) lineup built on the E-GMP.S platform. The PV5 Passenger is offered in a single L2/H1 configuration, with a choice of two Kia’s first electric van, and its first commercial vehicle in any […]
