October 29, 2024
Works Council Chairwoman Daniela Cavallo has provided further details on the planned savings in the Volkswagen Group ahead of the next round of negotiations. The Board of Management allegedly wants to close up to three plants, downsize all others, divest core areas, and implement massive salary cuts. This would also affect electric car production. “This […]
October 28, 2024
According to sector federation Febiac, the market share of pure electric cars in Belgium and Luxembourg is still growing. During the first nine months of this year, 27% of registrations were purely electric, a 7.4% increase compared to 2023. Of course, the most significant factor in this positive electric result is the company car segment, […]
October 25, 2024
With a turnover of €10.7 billion (+1.8%), Renault Group is swimming against the tide in automotive land. Thanks to many new models, sales decreased less than the market average. That’s why it maintains its forecast for 2024, with an operational margin of 7.5% and a free cash flow of over € 2.5 billion. “Our third-quarter […]
October 24, 2024
Despite good Q3 sales results, Volvo is warning of a ‘cold winter’ in sales for the last quarter of this year and even deep into 2025. Meanwhile, the sales of electrified vehicles almost reach half of the total sales, and pure electric sales represent one-quarter of these total sales. Volvo Cars reported a core operating […]
October 23, 2024
To mark the 25th anniversary of the original A2, Audi is showcasing an A2 e-tron, an A2 that has been converted into an electric vehicle by a bunch of Audi apprentices. Although this is a one-off created for the anniversary, Audi is planning a new entry-level electric model below the Q4 e-tron, likely to be […]
October 23, 2024
The Swiss manufacturer Softcar has unveiled a lightweight L7e electric car with four seats. It weighs 640 kilograms, including the battery, and is said to have a range of 200 kilometers. Prices start from €23,000. All vehicles in the L7e class have one thing in common: they can travel at a maximum speed of 90 […]
October 22, 2024
According to a new study by the green group Transport & Environment (T&E), subsidies for gasoline and diesel company cars cost taxpayers €42 billion every year in the five biggest EU countries alone. The study by ERM, commissioned by T&E, calculates the effects of the four tax benefits traditionally given to company cars: benefit-in-kind, depreciation […]
October 22, 2024
The European Car Manufacturers Association (ACEA) data show that in September 2024, new EU car registrations continued their downward trajectory (-6.1%), with negative results across three of the region’s four major markets. France declined by -11.1%, Italy by -10.7%, and the German market regressed by 7%. On the other hand, Spain experienced a rebound (+6.3%). […]
October 21, 2024
At the Paris Motor Show, Renault also presented an entire EV ecosystem. It has shown up with a fleet of electric vehicles covering everything from the road to the sea and even the sky. The concept vehicles were showcased with the Renault 4 E-Tech launch. Renault not only presented the R4 E-Tech for the first […]
October 21, 2024
Specialized news magazine Automotive News communicated this week that the fate of the Audi factory in Brussels was sealed. The factory will be closed, and all 3,000 employees will be laid off. Maybe the spectacular message comes a bit too early. A recent statement by Audi COO Gerd Walker has fueled it. Until now, Volkswagen […]
October 18, 2024
The Dutch mobility organization ANWB has studied the charging habits of its members all across Europe this summer. They researched the data of their members’ charging passes (ANWB laadpas), which have been charged 63,000 times abroad this summer. Most charging sessions were in France (24,615), Germany (17,202), Belgium (5,179), and Italy (4,278). Still, some Dutchmen […]
October 17, 2024
Stellantis said on Wednesday that its consolidated global shipments in the third quarter have dropped to 1.148 million units, a 20% decrease compared to the same period in 2023. The Franco-Italian automaker said in a note that the fall in deliveries was higher than underlying sales, which are estimated to have dropped by 15%. This […]
October 17, 2024
South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai wanted to present something new at the Paris Motor Show, so this week, it premiered the Inster Cross in the French metropolis. Hyundai says it’s a version of the small city dweller “with a more outdoor look”. The regular Inster, based on the little Casper with a combustion engine available […]
October 16, 2024
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) has published a study on the CO2 reduction requirements of the ten largest car manufacturers to comply with the EU’s fleet limits for 2025. On average, manufacturers must increase their BEV share by a maximum of twelve percentage points, from 16% in 2023 to around 28% by 2025. […]
October 16, 2024
Stellantis brand Citroën presented the upcoming C5 Aircross as a concept car at the Paris Motor Show. The carmaker will also launch it with a purely electric drive. The revised ë-C4 and ë-C4 X were also on display. The C5 Aircross Concept shown in Paris features several design elements common to show cars of this […]
October 15, 2024
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said on Monday at the Paris Motor Show that he is not ruling out future job cuts. “I am not ruling out anything,” Tavares told French radio station RTL when asked whether he intended to cut jobs. Tavares was in the French capital for the Paris Motor Show, which runs until […]
October 15, 2024
Leapmotor International entered the Paris Motor Show today with the global debut of the B10, the first model in its new B-series. “This launch marks a critical milestone in Leapmotor’s global expansion, as the company accelerates its efforts to provide accessible, high-tech electric vehicles (EVs) across Europe and beyond,” says the press release from partner […]
October 14, 2024
Renault is also showing the production version of its new R4 at the Paris Motor Show. The press release says the Renault 4 E-Tech electric “takes up a natural position in the B segment, just above Renault 5 E-Tech electric. ” Slightly bigger and roomier than the Renault 5 E-Tech electric, its positioning is similar […]
October 14, 2024
Just before the start of this year’s Paris Motor Show, Renault’s sports car subsidiary, Alpine, invited guests to the presentation of the A390_β. Without the Greek letter in its name, the production version is scheduled for market launch next year. We were allowed to look at this ‘beta version’ and gain insight into Alpine’s electrification […]
October 11, 2024
As of now, the Stellantis group is definitely and officially in search of a new CEO. Its creator and current CEO, Carlos Tavares, will end his mandate in early 2026, and it will not be renewed. Meanwhile, the current boss has reshuffled his management in the wake of the group’s receding sales and profit figures […]
October 11, 2024
The BMW Group increased its deliveries of all-electric vehicles in the third quarter by 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Across all BMW brands, the manufacturer delivered a total of 103,440 electric vehicles. In total, for the first nine months of 2024, BMW Group delivered 1,754,158 units, 4.5% less than the year. “This […]
October 10, 2024
In seven years, Volvo Cars’ factory in Ghent, Belgium, has produced one million XC40s (and derivatives). The car was Volvo’s first compact premium SUV and also became the first EV for the Swedes with a fully electric version. In 2025, it will be joined by Volvo’s latest small EV to date, the EX30, which is […]
October 10, 2024
Ratan Tata, the businessman who inherited one of India’s oldest conglomerates and transformed it through a string of eye-catching deals into a global empire, has died. He was 86. In 2008, he bought Jaguar Land Rover from Ford. Tata Group Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran announced his death in a statement, calling Tata “a truly uncommon leader […]
October 10, 2024
Dacia, already Europe’s leading B-segment brand, is entering the C-SUV segment with Bigster. This all-new vehicle illustrates Dacia’s core values: essential, eco-smart, robust, and outdoor. It will also be a lot cheaper than its main rivals. The all-new Bigster is tailored to the specific requirements of a still-growing SUV market. “Spiraling costs are an issue […]
October 09, 2024
Another Toyota and Subaru co-developed electric SUV is coming to the US, Europe, and Japan. The new electric SUV will join the current bZ4X and Solterra in the Japanese automaker’s global lineup. Toyota and Subaru worked together to launch the bZ4X and Solterra models in May 2022. These electric SUVs are based on the e-TNGA […]
October 08, 2024
Last Friday, the 27 EU member states voted on the Commission’s proposal to seriously increase the import tariffs on EVs produced in China. We already commented on this last week. Meanwhile, the Chinese have reacted, and the NGO T&E has commented interestingly. China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) has opposed the European Union’s additional tariffs on […]
October 08, 2024
Jeep’s commercial results in Europe at the end of September 2024 show a volume of registrations of 100,700 units, an increase of 3.5%, and a market share of 1%. “We are thrilled to announce that Jeep sales in Europe have surpassed 100,000 vehicles, demonstrating that our commitment to delivering a brand that embodies freedom and […]
October 07, 2024
This weekend, the 15th edition of the Zoute Grand Prix (ZGP) took place in Knokke on the Belgian coast. The (cristal) jubilee edition was also the first of a new era. After serious financial problems, the organization was taken over, and the event wanted to start on a clean sheet. That worked well, apparently, with […]
October 04, 2024
A week before its official premiere at the Paris Motor Show, Peugeot has already revealed the e-408, an electric variant of its mid-size crossover that will try to compete with the Tesla Model 3 and Polestar 2, among others. This addition means that almost every car available to order in Peugeot’s line-up now offers a […]
October 04, 2024
Skoda has presented the Elroq, its second EV after the Enyaq. When the Skoda comes onto the market in the first quarter of 2025, it will offer much for the money asked. The price for Belux has just been released: €33,990. According to Skoda, it’s the first time a fully electric vehicle is available at […]
October 02, 2024
According to the latest data from the sector federation Febiac and the federal service Mobility & Transport, the registrations of new cars in September decreased by 18.6% compared to last year. Thirty-one thousand six hundred seventy-six (31,676) new vehicles were registered. The cumulated data for the first three quarters show 356,568 registrations, 4.9% less than […]
October 01, 2024
Car manufacturing group Stellantis is undoubtedly not the first to lower its expectations, but the stock market’s reaction has been the most brutal. Stellantis shares have fallen by more than 10%. It seems that shareholders and speculators wanted to punish Stellantis for its impressive successes in the last years now that the car industry, in […]
October 01, 2024
Chinese car manufacturer BYD has filed a recall of nearly 100,000 vehicles due to a manufacturing fault in the electric power steering column assembly (CEPS) controller. According to China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), due to fire risks, the automaker will recall 96,714 Dolphin and Yuan Plus vehicles in China starting September 30th, 2024. […]
September 27, 2024
Jaguar Land Rover is getting its 61-year-old factory in Halewood near Liverpool ready for EV production. Here, the carmaker will manufacture mid-size electric SUVs based on the new Electric Modular Architecture (EMA) platform. The first half of the £500 million investment (€600 million) has already been used to modernize production lines and machinery, train staff, […]
September 27, 2024
The Dutch non-profit research organization TNO (Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek) survey shows that 48% of potential second-hand car buyers prefer an EV. The survey asked 1,512 respondents which type of car they would buy on the second-hand market in the five years to come. Almost half (48%) preferred an electric car, and 59% thought it feasible […]
September 26, 2024
According to the mobility organization Touring, the average EV driver in Belgium is highly educated, has a higher-than-average income, and has a private parking spot for his car. Touring has realized the latest European Alternative Fuels Observatory (EAFO) survey in Belgium in cooperation with the Brussels VUB University and interrogated 1,356 Belgian drivers. 96 of […]
September 25, 2024
The first European Media Drive for the Leapmotor C10 and T03 models is currently taking place in Milan. The event marks Leapmotor International’s official debut in Europe. Meanwhile, the Chinese carmaker is already readying other models to enter the market. In October 2023, Leapmotor and Stellantis announced that Stellantis would invest around 1.5 billion euros […]
September 25, 2024
BMW just released more information about its model offer update for the autumn and winter of 2024. Just a few weeks after the new BMW 1 Series launches, another two model variants will be available from November 2024. At the same time, the line-up of drive systems for the BMW i5 Touring and BMW 5 […]
September 24, 2024
On Monday, due to national security concerns, the US Commerce Department proposed prohibiting essential Chinese software and hardware in connected vehicles on American roads. This move would effectively ban Chinese cars and trucks from the US market. The planned regulation, first reported by Reuters, would also force American and other major automakers to remove critical […]
September 23, 2024
After 40 years, Volkswagen is no longer building Polo models in Europe. VW has ended its Polo production in Europe as it shifts its focus to smaller, more affordable EVs. Volkswagen has been building Polo models in Pamplona, Spain, since 1984. Over 8.4 million Polos have been assembled at the Pamplona plant as one of […]
September 20, 2024
Due to weak demand for cars with combustion engines, Volkswagen and its partner SAIC could close a factory in China. In the US, the carmaker has had to pause the production of the ID.4. Sales of ICE cars are dropping in the country, while electrified cars, the so-called new energy vehicles (NEVs) in China, dominate […]
September 20, 2024
The European Car Manufacturers Association (ACEA) calls for urgent action regarding the EU’s CO2 emission regulations “as demand for EVs declines”. On the other hand, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares again declares that relaxation would be wrong: “My guys are ready to fight.” He gets support from an unexpected side: BMW also says it plans to […]
September 20, 2024
According to the Flemish newspaper De Tijd, the Chinese car manufacturer Nio could be one of the candidates interested in taking over the Audi Brussels plant. However, NIO boss and founder William Li denies this. BYD is also rumored to be an interested party, and Belgium VW importer D’Ieteren which initially owned the factory before […]
September 18, 2024
Renault continues to pursue its nostalgic path. It presented the all-electric Estafette van study at IAA Transportation, and the new Renault Master with hydrogen drive was also on display at the same trade fair in Hanover. The Estafette Concept is an electric study intended to evoke memories of Renault’s iconic 1959 van of the same […]
September 18, 2024
BYD is presenting a new electric van tailored to the European market at Hanover’s IAA Transportation trade fair. The E-Vali is BYD’s entry into the electric 3.5 and 4.25-ton segment. The Chinese manufacturer has announced two lengths and two drive options for its electric van aimed at Europe. The shorter 3.5-tonner has a wheelbase of […]
September 17, 2024
Lotus has unveiled Theory 1, its first concept car, which, according to Lotus, embodies the future of intelligent performance vehicles. It’s part of The Lotus Theory, the company’s new design manifesto that will form the foundation for all future Lotus cars, encapsulated through three core principles: Digital, Natural, and Analogue (DNA). Digital stands for the […]
September 17, 2024
After reducing its stake in 2021, Mercedes-Benz has now completely exited Denza. This marks the end of a fairly long-standing German-Chinese partnership: in 2011, Daimler and the Chinese car manufacturer BYD founded the joint venture Denza to jointly produce low-cost cars for the Chinese market. The Mercedes-Benz Group is no longer involved in the Chinese […]
September 17, 2024
According to an NGO Transport & Environment (T&E) analysis, electric cars are expected to reach a 24% European market share as carmakers grow EV sales to meet the EU CO2 targets. “Car manufacturers have clear pathways to meet their EU climate targets next year due to the expected rapid growth in electric car sales,” says […]
September 16, 2024
In response to the (unofficial) ACEA proposal to the European Commission to delay the 2025 emission targets for two years, Stellantis boss Carlos Tavares said, “It would be surreal to change the rules now.” “Everyone has known about the rules for a long time and has had time to prepare, and so now it’s time […]
September 05, 2024
Volvo, the Swedish car manufacturer owned by the Chinese Geely Group, has announced that it will abandon its ambition to sell only fully electric cars by 2030. Instead, it aims for 90-100% of its global sales to be either pure electric or plug-in hybrids at that time. Volvo attributes the change in policy to a […]
September 05, 2024
Nine years after the dieselgate scandal, the former VW Group CEO Martin Winterkorn finally appeared before a German court Tuesday. He denied all allegations against him and pleaded not guilty. He will make a declaration on Wednesday concerning his involvement. Winterkorn, aged 77, led the VW Group from 2007 to 2015. Under his leadership, the […]
September 04, 2024
Kia has unveiled the EV3, a new compact SUV with electric drive. The 4.30-meter-long model adopts many elements of the large EV9 inside and out; the platform is essentially the same. In Belgium, only the long-range version was available in August, starting at a special price of €39,090 (instead of 41,190) to be eligible for […]
September 04, 2024
As the VW Group will miss its savings targets by several billion euros, the top management is planning further cuts. For the first time in its 87 years of existence, possible plant closures and redundancies are being considered, also in Germany. Meanwhile, VW’s daughter Audi announced that the Audi Brussels plant would not produce a […]
September 03, 2024
According to the data of the sector federation, Febiac, 29,333 cars were registered in Belgium and Luxembourg in August 2024, a regress of -20,3% compared to the same month last year. Cumulated over the previous eight months, this means a decrease of 3.3% overall. It is noticeable that the segment of individual buyers is still […]
September 02, 2024
What had become apparent over the past few days is now official: BYD is taking sales in Germany into its own hands. To this end, the Chinese car manufacturer founded BYD Automotive GmbH and took over Hedin Electric Mobility, the Hedin subsidiary previously responsible for BYD imports. There were increasing signs that BYD was dissatisfied […]
August 30, 2024
Polestar, the electric car brand of Geely and Volvo, announced the appointment of Michael Lohscheller as its new CEO. In October, he will succeed long-term CEO Thomas Ingenlath, who has held the position since 2017. The new appointment comes shortly after another significant change at the top of the board. On on October 1st, Lohscheller […]
August 30, 2024
According to data from ACEA, the European Manufacturers Association, new EU car registrations saw a modest increase (+0.2%) in July 2024. However, there were mixed results across the region’s four major markets: Italy (+4.7%) and Spain (+3.4%) recorded moderate gains, while the French (-2.3%) and German (-2.1%) markets experienced declines. Seven months into 2024, new […]
August 28, 2024
Sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday that Toyota Motor Corp. and BMW AG will expand their tie-up in fuel cell vehicle (FCEV) operations in a bid to increase the competitiveness of their hydrogen-powered cars. Under the deeper partnership, which is due to be announced on September 5th, Toyota will provide key components, such […]
August 28, 2024
As of 1 October, Eddy Haesendonck is confirmed as CEO of Hedin Automotive for the whole Benelux region, while his colleague Henrik Lessèl, currently CEO of Hedin Belux, will become CEO of Hedin Germany, a fast-growing market for the Swedish group. In August 2022, Eddy Heasendonck, former CEO of BMW Belux, became CEO of Hedin […]
August 28, 2024
Xpeng is looking for a European production site because of the additional EU tariffs on imported electric cars from China. In addition, the Chinese start-up is intensifying its ongoing cooperation with Volkswagen. Xpeng’s CEO, He Xiaopeng, told Bloomberg that the company is initially selecting a production site in the EU and planning to set up […]
