Volkswagens charging butler shows its tricks in Dresden

June 10, 2026

Volkswagen has shown its autonomous charging robot to a live audience for the first time. The concept of a charging butler is no longer science fiction. This prototype will do real work in a real city. Has plugging in finally become hassle-free? Volkswagen Group Innovation brought its autonomous charging robot to Dresden. It’s got six […]

Stellantis starts robotaxi pilot in Luxembourg

June 10, 2026

Stellantis has teamed up with Bolt and Pony.ai to start offering robotaxi rides in Luxembourg. Not the city, but the whole country. Adding to other pilots, ranging from Zagreb over Munich to London, 2026 is unfolding as the year when robotaxis finally land in Europe.  Luxembourg is a small country, but apparently it has a […]

Finnish fraud: miracle solid-state battery turns out to be false

June 09, 2026

It was the battery claim of the decade. Donut Lab introduced solid-state cells that shocked the battery world with their efficiency and blistering charging times. Now, it turns out that it was just a decent liquid lithium-ion cell with an ambitious press release. Finnish financial and criminal authorities are reportedly looking into the matter. Alarm […]

Citroën boss: “Electric 2CV will be deliberately not over-engineered”

June 09, 2026

Citroën’s CEO, Xavier Chardon, confirmed in an interview with German fleet publication Autoflotte that the new 2CV will make its debut at the Paris Motor Show this October. The concept, he says, will be “very close to the production model.” Sales follow in 2028, or exactly eighty years after the original premiered at the same […]

VW ID. Polo, Cupra Raval and Skoda Epiq roll off production lines (update)

June 09, 2026

The Volkswagen Group’s affordable EV offensive went into production. Last week, the first ID.Polo, Cupra Raval rolled off the line at the Seat plant in Martorell, near Barcelona. Skoda just confirmed production of the new Epiq has started at Volkswagen Navarra in Pamplona. These are the first two members of VW’s Electric Urban Car Family. […]

Flanders puts €119 million on the table to keep Volvo in Ghent

June 08, 2026

To support Belgium’s last car factory, the Flemish government offers a subsidy package of up to €119 million to Volvo Cars. The offer was sent as an official letter to the headquarters in Gothenburg. Will this address the root of the problem, or does it just buy time? As Volvo gears up for its new […]

Powerdot and Octopus Energy launch Europe’s first home-plus-public EV bundle

June 05, 2026

Destination charging operator Powerdot and energy provider Octopus Energy have merged home and public charging into a single €49.99 monthly subscription. It’s a real first in the sector, aiming to democratize and facilitate charging. The most important caveat for now is that it is only available in France. To get it out of the way […]

Lotus Eletre X: the range extender that kills the electric-only plan

June 05, 2026

Lotus once promised to go fully electric by 2028. That plan is dead. To spearhead the new direction, the brand is releasing the Eletre X, a range-extender version of its SUV that was originally meant to be electric-only. “The EV penetration rate was not as good as we expected”, said Lotus CEO Feng Qingfeng to […]

Fiat Grizzly: bare necessities for big families

June 04, 2026

Fiat unveiled the first official images of the Grizzly and Grizzly Fastback. Two compact SUVs that represent one family with global ambitions. These are far from niche products. This is Fiat going mainstream to every corner of the world market. Two bodies, one platform In wildlife environments, the scenario is different, but in the case […]

CATL’s next battery shot: the cell that breathes air

June 04, 2026

The world’s largest battery maker has publicly backed lithium-air technology as its long-term strategic direction. Not solid-state (though that is next up, too). Not sodium-ion (that is already going into mass production this year).  The battery company that correctly predicted and pushed those transitions now says the real endgame is a battery that uses atmospheric […]

Uber extends its robotaxi services in Munich with second partnership

June 03, 2026

Ride-hailing giant Uber announces a three-way collaboration with chip giant Nvidia and Israeli artificial intelligence startup Autobrains to launch a second robotaxi program in Munich. With a different software approach, the technology bets on fast scalability and carmaker independence.     Uber’s new deal combines Autobrains’ autonomous driving software, Nvidia’s Drive Hyperion Level 4 compute […]

Chinese TikTok car will not be about powertrain but cockpit 

June 03, 2026

Despite earlier denials of the rumors, TikTok’s parent company is preparing to launch a car in its home country, China. It will be a crossover targeting the youthful audience typically active on social media platforms. The car itself will be manufactured by Seres, the Chinese automaker that’s also behind Huawei’s Aito brand. Five months ago, […]

Rolls-Royce drops the 2030 EV promise but not the Spectre

June 02, 2026

Three months after quietly abandoning its pledge to go all-electric by 2030, Rolls-Royce is refreshing its only EV. The Spectre Series II has landed, and it is a proper update, not just a nose job. The recently appointed CEO of Rolls-Royce, Chris Brownridge, publicly stated that he had walked back the commitment his predecessor had […]

BYD pays out if its ADAS systems fail

June 02, 2026

It’s the main question hovering over the use of ADAS technology and automated driving: if the systems fail and cause an accident, who’s paying the bill? Most disclaimers say that the use must be supervised and that the driver is always responsible. Not BYD. Still, there remain some ‘buts’. At its Intelligence Strategy Launch Event […]

Polestar plugs into bidirectional charging with test pilot

June 02, 2026

Vehicle-to-grid has been “just around the corner” for some years now. Many EV owners are eagerly awaiting it, as second-generation EVs almost all offer the technology as a standard feature. This week, several announcements arrived at once – in Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands – that suggest the corner has finally been turned. The latest […]

Toyota scraps the Lexus LF-ZC despite production promise

June 01, 2026

Japanese automaker Toyota has quietly killed its most technologically ambitious electric vehicle: the LF-ZC. It joins Honda, Mazda, and Subaru in retreating from their own electrification promises. When Toyota unveiled the Lexus LF-ZC at the Japan Mobility Show in October 2023, it looked, briefly, like the world’s largest carmaker had decided to stop hedging. The […]

Waymo starts free ride-hailing with new Ojai robotaxi

June 01, 2026

American ride-hailing operator Waymo has brought its most ambitious vehicle yet into rotation: the purpose-built Ojai (pronounced: oh-hi), its sixth-generation robotaxi made in China. Rides are currently free, but not for long. All of Waymo’s previous autonomous vehicles were regular consumer cars converted into robotaxis: a Chrysler Pacifica minivan, the Volvo XC90, and then a […]

Stellantis Pro One’s answer to Renault Flexis: a self-driving box

May 29, 2026

In Europe, Stellantis Pro One sells more vans than any other brand. Now it wants to reinvent what a van actually is. The vision? The autonomous driving Box on Wheels. At its Investor Day, Stellantis flooded the press with strategic road maps, investment programs, and a reshuffling of its brand hierarchy. In the margin, it […]

Japan has a new EV brand, but it’s not really Japanese

May 29, 2026

Is Japan’s tightly guarded kei car market ready for a shake-up? There’s a new kid on Tokyo’s block, as the fresh brand EMTA has announced its intention to get its slice of the nation’s famous small and affordable cars. There’s a very deliberate attempt not to look Chinese, but the reality – of course – […]

Volvo makes charging at Tesla’s network easier for its drivers

May 28, 2026

Volvo EV owners in Europe are getting a meaningful charging improvement while traveling longer distances. Starting in the autumn of this year, drivers will be able to access, initiate, and pay for sessions at Tesla Supercharger stations without the need for a separate app. No, Tesla allowing rival brands to its Supercharger network in Europe […]

Polestar pushes back 6 electric roadster – maybe for good

May 28, 2026

The Polestar 6 is near ready. The design is finalized, and the development work is mostly concluded. All Polestar needs to do is start production, so it seems. However, don’t expect to see it on the road any time soon. Until market conditions improve, the starting lights remain firmly red. Granted, the 6 isn’t Polestar’s […]

Tesla Cybercab certified as the most efficient EV ever built 

May 27, 2026

The Tesla Cybercab leaves every other production EV in the dust when it comes to frugality. For robotaxi economics, its record consumption is genuinely significant. For everything else, context is more important. Tesla’s Cybercab has been officially certified by the US EPA at 165 Wh per mile. Converted to the European WLTP standard, this would […]

BYD launches Dolphin G DM-i: the smallest plug-in hybrid in Belgium 

May 27, 2026

BYD is bringing plug-in hybrid technology to the B-segment, a class that until now has been bypassed or abandoned by car makers. The Dolphin G DM-i aims squarely at Europe’s B-segment. Not only is this the first model BYD has developed specifically for overseas markets, but it is also the only PHEV currently on sale […]

Xpeng rolls first series-produced robotaxi off the line

May 26, 2026

Chinese tech company and EV maker Xpeng has achieved a domestic first: a robotaxi built entirely with in-house technologies has entered series production. But rolling a vehicle off a production line might well be the easy part. The real test starts in the second half of 2026. Xpeng has officially rolled off the assembly line […]

Stellantis bets on Land Rover and Dongfeng to regain market share

May 25, 2026

In the wake of his first Investor Day as CEO, Antonio Filosa already presents two cornerstone deals of his strategic turnaround plan: one plans to build Voyah models at the French Citroën factory in Rennes, the other opens the door to a Jeep for the US, developed and built together with Land Rover. Stellantis needs […]

Filosa’s fix for Stellantis: Opel and Citroën step back, USA steps up

May 22, 2026

Stellantis unveiled a €60 billion five-year strategy at its Investor Day in Auburn Hills yesterday. The plan bets heavily on North America, demotes European brands Opel and Citroën, and leans on Chinese manufacturing partners to fill underutilized factory capacity. The markets were not convinced: the stock dropped more than 6%. After posting a net loss […]

The point of no return: EV adoption in Europe and China can no longer be undone

May 21, 2026

New research in the magazine Nature Communications identifies what climate scientists call a “cascading positive tipping point” in certain EV markets. Europe and China are now past a decisive threshold. Their shift away from combustion-engined cars has become self-propelling. A research team at the University of Exeter has published what may be one of the […]

Xiaomi teases Audi and Porsche again with Nürburgring SUV record

May 20, 2026

Xiaomi has upset the Germans once again in their own backyard. The Xiaomi YU7 GT, which is set to be officially announced tomorrow, has broken the SUV record at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. With its 7:34.931 lap time, it left the Audi RS Q8 and the Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT Coupé in the dust. After setting […]

Jaecoo 8: flagship plug-in hybrid SUV lands in Belgium (update)

May 20, 2026

Omoda & Jaecoo has officially confirmed that its seven-seater SUV, the 8 SHS-P, is now available in Belgium, starting at €54,900. The brand’s largest and most premium model brings a 134 km WLTP electric range, and a level of cabin technology that aims to put considerable pressure on established European rivals in the same price […]

Electra undercuts home rates for fast charging – but not always and not everywhere

May 20, 2026

The French charging point operator (CPO) Electra is the first major player in Belgium to tie public charging costs to time-of-use logic. This means that off-peak rates will be offered that are lower than the average Belgian household electricity tariff. This scheme provides a new windfall for environments where charging is constrained by practical caveats, […]

EV adoption: emerging markets overtake established leaders

May 20, 2026

According to new data from the International Council on Clean Transportation ICCT, zero- and low-emission architectures accounted for a quarter of all global light-duty vehicle sales in 2025. While established markets show significant variation, emerging economies — particularly in Southeast Asia — are rapidly accelerating the e-mobility transition. The global electrification of light-duty vehicles, combining […]

New Hyundai Mobis electric powertrain designed for competitors too 

May 19, 2026

Hyundai’s supplier unit, Hyundai Mobis, has unveiled a new generation of electric powertrain. It’s a modular system that integrates a motor, inverter, and reduction gearbox into a single compact unit. The driveline is specifically designed to cut costs and boost time-to-market, and will also be made available for brands outside the Hyundai Group.  The PE […]

Stellantis to build affordable E-Car in Naples from 2028

May 19, 2026

Stellantis is gearing up for its E-Car project and has officially announced a family of small, affordable, all-electric vehicles for multiple group brands. Production has been assigned to its Pomigliano d’Arco plant in Italy, near Naples, with a 2028 start date.  For nearly a year, the E-Car has circulated as a concept: after a joint […]

Stellantis taps into China to build Peugeots and Jeeps for Europe

May 18, 2026

Faced with contracting market share and overcapacity, Stellantis is reconfiguring its global strategy by leaning heavily on its historic Chinese partner, Dongfeng. The two automotive groups have announced a strategic agreement to produce new electrified vehicles in China for export. It shows how Western legacy automakers are increasingly relying on Chinese manufacturing efficiencies. When Peugeot-Citroën […]

Humble Hauler challenges Einride’s grip on autonomous freight

May 18, 2026

For the past several years, discussions surrounding driverless, cab-less electric freight have been heavily dominated by a single European player: Sweden’s Einride. Now, a well-funded Californian challenger emerges. Humble proposes an alternative to Einride’s established ‘Pod’ architecture. Its arrival launches a new phase of competition in autonomous port and yard logistics. San Francisco-based start-up Humble […]

Kia’s electric successor to the Stinger is entangled in a cost struggle

May 15, 2026

Kia is eager to revive the Stinger in electric guise. Not in the least to boost its emotional and design appeal, but also to diversify its electric portfolio beyond volume-selling SUVs. However, it seems that the high engineering costs for a dedicated performance EV are currently preventing a production greenlight. Kia is actively exploring a […]

The robotaxi has arrived in Europe… if you live in Zagreb

May 12, 2026

Verne, the Zagreb startup backed by Mate Rimac, has launched the continent’s first commercial self-driving ride service. The dream of joining the United States and China is European. But don’t be mistaken: the underlying tech is Chinese. Since last April, citizens of Zagreb have had an interesting option for their morning commute. The Croatian autonomous […]

Europe’s battery dream dies even more as Morrow capitulates

May 12, 2026

Battery cell maker Morrow has filed for bankruptcy. The collapse of another promising cell manufacturer exposes how Europe talks about industrial sovereignty but refuses to guarantee the conditions for it. Green mobility group Transport & Environment takes notice and warns that the continent could lose 34 companies the size of Northvolt if political action remains […]

Ghent sees more available chargers after rotation tariff launch

May 11, 2026

Three months after Ghent introduced a financial penalty for drivers who hog public charging points, the numbers paint a clear picture: behavioral change. The number of long-stay sessions has decreased, charger availability has increased, and the city’s revenue amounted to €230,000. There is a particular frustration that unites EV drivers across Europe: arriving at a […]

EV retreat: Porsche shuts down battery, e-bike and software subsidiaries 

May 11, 2026

Porsche has decided to wind down three non-core divisions, resulting in the loss of over 500 jobs. The closures are part of a sweeping strategic reversal that is stripping Porsche of the electromobility ventures it spent years building. The way forward seems to be the backview mirror for the German sports car maker. Germany’s most […]

Is Geely choosing Valencia over Ghent for European production?

May 08, 2026

While its subsidiary Volvo is struggling with overcapacity, and the Ghent factory needs relevance through the production of Chinese models, the Spanish outlet La Tribuna de Automocion reports that the mother company Geely is in talks to buy a part of Ford’s plant in Spain. Chinese brands are boosting their manufacturing ambitions in Europe to […]

Europe makes tachographs mandatory for cross-border vans

May 08, 2026

From July, the delivery van’s dashboard enters a new era. Europe has issued a regulatory requirement that forces millions of light commercial vehicles to comply with the same standard as trucks: a tachograph. The new law, coming soon, is likely to cause a bottleneck at aftermarket equipment firms. Picture a plumber from Ghent. He crosses […]

No driver, no excuse: robotaxis no longer escape fines

May 07, 2026

California is closing a years-old legal loophole that made driverless cars effectively untouchable by traffic police. Starting this summer, autonomous vehicle manufacturers can be fined directly for moving violations committed by their vehicles. The question is: aren’t robotaxis built to behave under all conditions?  For years, driverless cars in California operated in a gray zone. […]

Ghent startup Optimile finds its next gear as DKV Mobility takes over 

May 06, 2026

The Ghent-based software builder for charging stations, Optimile, has found a new breath. To expand its operations at a European level, the company has been fully acquired by the German fuel card giant DKV Mobility. The takeover fits into a broader scenario, as the latter has been buying similar companies over the past few years […]

Amazon becomes a full-fledged logistics company

May 06, 2026

For two decades, the story of Amazon was about what it sold. From now on, the story is about how it moves its own and others’ goods, and for whom. Companies like DHL, FedEx, and UPS have a new, very serious concern. Amazon pulled back a curtain that few in the logistics industry wanted to […]

Ex-Ferrari boss di Montezemolo wants to fix German high-speed rail

May 06, 2026

The man who turned Ferrari into a cultural icon wants to do the same for German rail. His weapon: €3.6 billion, 26 Siemens Velaro trains, and a proven Italian playbook that cut ticket prices by 40 percent. Germany has a train problem. In 2025, Deutsche Bahn’s long-distance network posted its worst punctuality record in history: […]

Denso targets 2029 for inductive charging on public roads

May 05, 2026

Japan’s largest automotive supplier, Denso, is developing an inductive charging technology that could hit public roads by 2029. It could upend Japan’s charging infrastructure headache and make the charging cable and oversized battery packs relics of the past. With its highly urbanized profile, symbolized by highways on the eleventh floor of high-rise buildings, Japan is […]

Leapmotor eyes the premium segment, with a little help from Maserati?

May 04, 2026

Europe’s fastest-growing Chinese EV brand is planning a second, higher-priced label for 2027. Like BYD has Denza, Leapmotor wants its own luxury brand. More out of a necessity than a technical ambition. But can a budget brand pull it off? Leapmotor, the Stellantis-backed Chinese EV maker that last year posted its first annual profit, is […]

European auto industry back in the firing line as Trump reignites 25% tariff threat

May 04, 2026

The trade deal between the US and the EU, which was agreed just last summer, is already showing cracks. President Trump signals a return to the tariff playbook and proposes imposing a 25% duty on European cars and trucks. But this time the trigger is geopolitical as much as economic. Donald Trump’s tariff menace has […]

Welcome to China’s tech craze: these car headlights can play a movie

May 01, 2026

Huawei has unveiled its XPixel technology, which can turn a car’s front lamps into a full-color cinema projector. Chinese cars are increasingly becoming houses on wheels. While the drive-in movie theatre is a well-known romantic feature from American pop culture, it is now China that is trying to revive the concept by upgrading the technology. […]

Brake failure risk: Audi recalls nearly 100,000 e-tron and Q8 e-tron EVs

April 30, 2026

Nearly 100,000 units of the Audi e-tron and Q8 e-tron are being recalled worldwide over a potentially dangerous braking defect. The issue can render the conventional foot brake completely inoperative, leaving the electronic parking brake as the only fallback. The recall also applies in Belgium, where the model was manufactured. Audi has initiated a worldwide […]

Freelander is reborn as an electric 4×4 built in China (update)

April 29, 2026

Once upon a time, the Land Rover Freelander was the best-selling four-wheel-drive vehicle in Europe. It held that title for five consecutive years. Now, nearly three decades after its 1997 debut, the name returns, reborn as an independent electric brand built in China but coming to Europe. Together with Chery Jaguar Land Rover and Chinese […]

CATL turns sodium-ion into a grid reality with a 60 GWh landmark deal

April 29, 2026

One week after unveiling its Naxtra sodium-ion battery for electric vehicles, CATL has signed the largest sodium-ion battery order in history: 60 GWh for grid-scale energy storage over three years. The technology has crossed the line from lab breakthrough to industrial product. The ink on CATL’s Tech Day announcements was barely dry. The world’s largest […]

BYD’s Sealion 08 an electric alternative to the BMW X7?

April 28, 2026

At the Beijing Auto Show, BYD unveiled its Sealion 08, which has a good chance of arriving in Europe. The specs of its flagship SUV are a sample of where the technological evolution of the car manufacturer and battery maker stands today: 643 hp, 900 km of range, and nine-minute charging. But the story behind […]

Hyundai hopes to reignite its China volumes with the Ioniq V

April 27, 2026

It looks like a concept car, but the Ioniq V, unveiled at the 2026 Beijing Auto Show, is definitely a production model. It looks like the lovechild of a Toyota Prius and a Tesla Cybertruck, but don’t let its appearance hide the real message: with its new subbrand Ioniq, Hyundai wants to start from scratch […]

Peugeot previews made in China strategy with two new concepts

April 27, 2026

At the 2026 Beijing Auto Show, Dongfeng’s two French joint ventures put four concept vehicles on the floor in a coordinated push that looks like more than a design exercise. Production starts in 2027, on Chinese platforms, in China, but export is on the agenda. Are these the successors to the famed Peugeot 508 and […]

ChargePoint launches a 600kW charger that fits everywhere

April 24, 2026

After years of financial turbulence, the Californian charging giant ChargePoint is clawing back. Its return to form starts with a standalone post that redraws the boundaries of what a single-cabinet EV charger can do. The electric vehicle charging industry has a habit of measuring progress in numbers that rapidly become obsolete. A hundred kilowatts was […]

Windrose’s electric truck just leveled with its diesel rivals

April 24, 2026

As oil prices push fleet operators to despair, Windrose has slashed the price of its long-haul electric truck from €250,000 to €198,000. This basically puts it in the range of classic diesel trucks. Clearly, Chinese manufacturers are trying to disrupt the transportation industry, just as they did in the passenger car category. Is it schadenfreude […]

Who’s the leader? CATL fires four new game-changing batteries at once

April 23, 2026

On the eve of the Beijing Auto Show, CATL held its annual Tech Day and unveiled four new battery systems at the same time. An innovation stretch that reached from a record-breaking LFP cell for mass-market EVs to a sodium-ion battery heading for production later this year. The salvo is a direct response to BYD’s […]

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