July 14, 2026
The Belgian company John Cockerill Hydrogen has unveiled its first hydrogen electrolyzer designed and manufactured entirely in France. The unveiling took place in Belfort at McPhy’s industrial site, which John Cockerill Hydrogen acquired last year, along with some of its staff and patents. The 30-metric-ton unit enables the production of decarbonized hydrogen from water. Push […]
July 14, 2026
Dutch camper specialist Vantrack will open reservations in September for a modular camping conversion of the electric Kia PV5 Passenger. Priced from €65,000 including the vehicle, the LightCamp promises to undercut most complete electric campervans currently offered in Europe. Its public debut is scheduled for the Kampeer & Caravan Jaarbeurs in Utrecht from 30 September […]
July 14, 2026
Mercedes-Benz has begun production of its new electric C-Class at its heavily expanded factory in Kecskemét, Hungary. At the same time, AMG is showcasing the 500 kW electric CLA 45, a far more extreme interpretation of the same transition. Together, the two models reveal the breadth of Mercedes’ EV strategy: one is a core-volume saloon […]
July 13, 2026
Starting May 1 of next year, Belgium plans to require a road vignette for all drivers on Belgian highways and regional roads. “Yet another one,” the exasperated drivers must be thinking as they prepare to set off on vacation by car, because the myriad systems for road and environmental vignettes and low-emission zones (LEZ) across […]
July 13, 2026
BYD has officially unveiled the European version of the Denza Z at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. CEO of BYD, Stella Li, and former F1 champion Jenson Button took the wraps off the sports car that intends to go head-to-head with the Porsche 911. Or rather, the Maserati GranTurismo Folgore. Because the driveline is fully […]
July 13, 2026
On Saturday in France, protesters demonstrated against the construction of the Seine-Nord Europe canal, a key component of the Seine-Scheldt Link, a large-scale inland waterway project intended to connect the French river with ports in Belgium and the Netherlands by 2032. Protesters are particularly concerned about the impact on waterways and wetlands, and the loss […]
July 10, 2026
As the charging sector shifts its focus from infrastructure rollout to rethinking payment schedules, the latest pricing innovation comes from Ionity. Europe’s largest ultra-fast charging network will literally pay drivers to disconnect before their battery is full. The reason? Free up charging space. The new scheme, called ‘Fast Lane Reward’, gives you 5 kWh of […]
July 10, 2026
“EU’s drive to let satellite technology force your car to slow down to 20 mph?” The British tabloid headline sounds like the perfect culture-war story. Yet behind the Daily Mail’s framing lies a serious question for Europe’s car industry and regulators. Now that vehicles can read speed limits, know where they are, and control their […]
July 09, 2026
The European aerospace corporation Airbus plans to establish a joint venture with aircraft engine manufacturer MTU Aero Engines to produce hydrogen-powered engines. These engines are intended to eventually serve as an alternative to fossil-fuel-powered internal combustion engines, thereby reducing CO2 emissions from aviation. Fuel cells Through the joint venture, which is expected to become operational […]
July 09, 2026
BYD has reached another symbolic milestone in its rapid rise as the world’s largest new energy vehicle manufacturer. On July 8, the Chinese carmaker announced that its 17 millionth NEV had rolled off the production line. The milestone car was the new Seal 08, the flagship sedan of BYD’s Ocean range, launched only days earlier […]
July 09, 2026
A fully autonomous driving Maserati Granturismo from AIdoptation has been granted permission to legally cruise the E313 and E314 at 120 km/h. At the same time, the person in the driver’s seat does something else entirely. This is the first time that Level 4 driving has been permitted on public roads anywhere in Europe. […]
July 08, 2026
Polestar has released more details about the upcoming new version of the 4. Rumored to be a shooting brake, the model will be called SUV and will go on sale on September 2. In any case, it brings back the rear window, which was replaced by a camera on the original 4. A rear window […]
July 08, 2026
Renault CEO François Provost has put one of the European car industry’s most sensitive questions on the table: can small electric cars be profitable, or will Europe’s volume manufacturers be pushed out of their home market by Chinese competition? In an interview with Les Echos, the LVMH-owned French business daily widely read in political and […]
July 07, 2026
Signage on Flemish highways is getting a facelift. The Roads and Traffic Agency (Agentschap Wegen en Verkeer, AWV), the road authority responsible for Flemish highways and regional roads, wants signage to be consistent across the entire Flemish highway network, guided by the principle of providing less but more relevant information per sign and improving traffic […]
July 07, 2026
Mercedes-Benz builds its compact cars in Germany. But for the upcoming electric ‘Baby-G’, the brand has changed its plans and is looking eastward. According to Automobilwoche, the German Rastatt plant will not be awarded the contract. The smallest G ever will most likely be stamped by the Hungarian division and roll off the line at […]
July 07, 2026
Leapmotor has opened the European order books for the B03X, the compact electric crossover it hopes will turn the Chinese brand from a niche newcomer into a serious contender in Europe’s volume EV market. At €24,900, the B03X will compete for the same buyers as Stellantis’ own Fiat Grande Panda Electric, Citroën ë-C3 Aircross, and […]
July 06, 2026
BloombergNEF expects global electric-car sales to set another record in 2026, even as the United States moves sharply in the opposite direction. Its new Electric Vehicle Outlook forecasts 23.3 million passenger EV sales worldwide this year, 11% more than in 2025, giving plug-in cars a 27% share of the global new-car market. The headline is […]
July 04, 2026
Brussels Airlines has taken delivery of its 8th Airbus A320neo aircraft. Thanks to its investment in this quieter aircraft model, the Belgian airline has halved its fleet’s noise pollution since 2014. Although Brussels Airlines’ approach to reducing noise pollution is sincere, its legal strategy is moving in the opposite direction. Indeed, it recently vehemently opposed […]
July 03, 2026
Last summer, 1.6 million train tickets to international destinations were purchased from the Belgian public railway company NMBS/SNCB, a 6% increase over the previous year. Current ticket sales also confirm this upward trend. One reason Belgians are increasingly choosing to travel by train is the growing range of destinations available. Currently, you can travel from […]
July 03, 2026
At a dedicated event in Rome, Fiat CEO Olivier François unveiled what the company calls its “micromobility vision.” The lineup consists of a threesome running on batteries: the existing Topolino, the earlier announced three-wheeler Tris, and the new Multiplina Concept. In these retro-crazy times, the Italian brand is reinterpreting the classic Fiat 600 Multipla. Highest […]
July 03, 2026
As Tesla has registered its strongest second quarter on record, the negative spiral initiated by Musk seems to have been countered. The American EV maker is back on track, but BYD still outsold it by roughly 77,000 fully electric vehicles on a global level. According to figures published this week, Tesla delivered 480,126 units in […]
July 02, 2026
Markus Flasch, CEO of BMW Motorrad, has assumed the presidency of the European Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers (ACEM) as of 1 July 2026. His two-year mandate begins at a pivotal moment for the sector, as Europe’s mobility landscape is undergoing profound change and the industry faces a convergence of regulatory, mobility, and competitiveness challenges. The […]
July 02, 2026
Belgian motorists overwhelmingly regard the car as essential to everyday life, yet increasingly see it as a luxury they can barely afford. That is the central finding of a European survey commissioned by Cardoen’s French parent group, AramisAuto, which places Belgium among the more cautious markets for electrification and low-emission zone policy. The OpinionWay study surveyed […]
June 30, 2026
Stellantis is betting on Chinese Dongfeng to get Jeep back on track in Europe. In addition to greenlighting the import of the American Recon, the lineup will be completed in 2028 with a Chinese-built plug-in hybrid SUV. But Brussels is already drafting tariffs on the exact type of vehicle this partnership produces. Jeep’s European portfolio […]
June 30, 2026
Although Smart reinvented itself around the booming SUV segment, sales have yet to meet expectations. With the recently appointed Wolfgang Ufer at the helm as its new CEO, the brand is bringing a Mercedes veteran to the role just as its most iconic model, the #2, is ready for a rematch. “It’s the best two-seater […]
June 30, 2026
Seven EU member states – Denmark, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden – have called on the European Union to maintain a clear and ambitious path toward electrification. The countries oppose any further easing of the regulations included in the EU’s auto package due in December, despite calls from Germany and others for […]
June 29, 2026
Unchecked tourism growth, fueled by increased air traffic, is driving an unaffordable housing crisis across Europe, says the NGO Transport & Environment (T&E). Some of the most popular destinations, like Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Greece, have seen protests from residents in the high-season summer months, often due to the strain on affordable housing. Southern Europe […]
June 29, 2026
In the wake of the new European E-car rules, a similar concept from an unexpected name has surfaced. Shell has unveiled a small urban EV called the Triple10 Challenge, which shows some interesting features for a car of its size. This is more than oil supermajor window dressing for green credentials. Shell still pumps roughly […]
June 26, 2026
Polestar has been officially denied to sell cars in the United States as of 2027. After the brand withdrew from China due to low adoption, the luxury EV maker now also risks losing the world’s second-largest car market. The company will focus largely on Europe. But that is still the backyard of German premium. Polestar […]
June 25, 2026
The new rules the EU plans to introduce for booking tickets for cross-border rail travel still mean that nearly half of the busiest international train journeys are difficult or impossible to book. That’s according to T&E, a lobby group for sustainable mobility, in a new report. T&E also proposes several changes and measures that would […]
June 25, 2026
No, the Mach-E is not canceled today. Ford is still building it in Mexico and shipping it to dealers. But a second-generation Mach-E built on Ford’s new Universal EV architecture isn’t going to happen. A dead end seems ahead for the battery-powered vehicle that galloped the Blue Oval into the EV era, despite its unfortunate […]
June 25, 2026
Spain’s new ‘Plan Auto+’ subsidy program is nearly ready for launch. Applications can reportedly be submitted starting in July, and retroactively for EVs purchased on or after January 1, 2026. The maximum grant is €4,500 per vehicle, but complex conditions apply. Spain has restructured its electromobility incentives at the beginning of 2026, dividing them into […]
June 24, 2026
Yesterday, we reported that electricity prices are rising sharply due to the massive demand for power to run air conditioners. The heat of the past few days and the demand for cooling are driving power prices to record highs. Prices above 1,000 euros per megawatt-hour have not been seen since 2020. However, to obtain electricity on […]
June 24, 2026
Fastned has raised €36.5 million in its latest retail bond issue, providing fresh capital for its European expansion as the Dutch fast-charging specialist continues to build stations faster than it turns a net profit. The company said €35.1 million of the June issue came from new investments, with the balance rolled over by existing bondholders. […]
June 24, 2026
Nomen est omen. A peak is a summit. So, conveniently, the new Peaq sits at the top of Skoda’s electric range. Stuffed with seven seats and a 91 kWh battery at best, the Czech brand has built its largest vehicle in 130 years. The Kia EV9 and Hyundai Ioniq 9 are facing a strong contender, […]
June 24, 2026
Geely will introduce the E2 in Belgium after the summer, bringing one of China’s biggest recent EV successes to the crowded European small-car market. The compact five-door is intended to make Geely a player at the accessible end of the electric market, starting around €20,000, but final Belgian prices and several core technical details remain […]
June 23, 2026
European and British carmakers are again seeking a reprieve from a post-Brexit trade rule that could impose a 10% tariff on electric vehicles crossing the Channel from 1 January 2027. The risk does not arise simply because a car is assembled in Britain. To remain tariff-free under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, an electric […]
June 23, 2026
The heat of the past few days is driving electricity prices to their highest level in years. On the wholesale electricity market, 658.09 euros per megawatt-hour must now be paid. It has been since December 2022 that electricity has been this expensive. The most expensive time is around a quarter to nine and nine o’clock in […]
June 23, 2026
Sweden’s Transport Administration has told the European Union to vote against rolling out Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) software unless the company disables a feature that allows the car to break posted speed limits. Belgium has approved since the beginning of the month. The Swedish recommendation arrived in a letter dated one month ago, addressed to […]
June 23, 2026
New car registrations in the European Union rose 4.0% in the first five months of 2026, reaching 4.75 million units. The headline masks a much more profound market shift: battery-electric cars now account for 1 in 5 registrations, while gasoline and diesel are rapidly losing ground. According to the latest figures from ACEA, 950,521 battery-electric […]
June 22, 2026
Volvo Cars CEO Hakan Samuelsson has made an explicit offer to his Chinese parent company. In an interview with Automobilwoche, Samuelsson said it would be “positive and possible” for Geely’s sibling brands to produce vehicles at Volvo’s European factories, including the Ghent, Belgium, plant. Samuelsson’s offer is a direct invitation for Geely Auto (the brand, […]
June 22, 2026
According to German newspaper Handelsblatt, the European Commission has finalized a proposal for punitive tariffs on plug-in hybrids made in China. These bread-and-butter models could face a similar fate to their counterparts with full-electric drivelines. However, the percentages would be lower. Europe set out to punish Chinese electric cars. Instead, it created a market for […]
June 19, 2026
At the annual general meeting, VW CEO Oliver Blume didn’t shy away from blunt words. Though the group is on track shedding 50,000 workforce, he stated that the “business model is no longer working today.” Volkswagen is struggling hard with the modern-day reality of car building, to the point that the question no longer is […]
June 19, 2026
Maserati has had a rough few years. Sales are down. The brand’s EV pivot has moved more slowly than planned, and the Grecale, its core volume model, has quietly fallen behind the competition on the one metric that matters most for electric cars: range. Revised Folgore versions of the Grecale and GranTurismo must help fix […]
June 18, 2026
The Antwerp-based construction company Smulders will participate in the construction of a power outlet in the North Sea for the German grid operator 50Hertz, a subsidiary of the Belgian high-voltage group Elia. The offshore power connector, known as ‘North Sea Connector 2,’ will enable up to 2 gigawatts of wind power electricity to be transmitted […]
June 18, 2026
The Porsche Taycan was the first EV to feature a two-speed gearboc. But now the German sports carmaker wants to reinvogarate the driving joy by adding fake gears, a feature that debuted on the Ioniq 5 N and which is also investigated by Toyota. The appeal for electric sports cars seems to reside in old-fashioned […]
June 17, 2026
Global electric vehicle registrations reached around 1.8 million in May, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence data reported by Reuters. That was only 3% more than in May last year, bringing the first five months of 2026 to a modest 0.9% increase. On paper, that looks like a clear slowdown after years of double-digit growth. In […]
June 17, 2026
Renault Group will not turn itself into a defense company, CEO François Provost insisted in Brussels last week. But barely days later, the French carmaker announced a new Thales deal that makes that red line harder to read. In an interview with De Tijd’s Bas Kurstjens and other media during the Automotive News Europe Congress, […]
June 16, 2026
China aims to achieve a 40% market share for electric heavy trucks by 2030. That’s almost half of the national fleet sales in less than five years from now. And if the country’s new energy cars and vans, or renewable energy policy, are anything to go by, the People’s Republic does not do half measures […]
June 16, 2026
After 16 European countries, including Belgium and the Netherlands, called for uniform European legislation on e-scooters late last year, the Benelux countries are now also urging the European Commission to work toward a harmonized European framework for e-scooters and other light electric vehicles. The three countries point to increasing fragmentation in national regulations, “which leads […]
June 16, 2026
As Tesla is gradually but quickly rolling out its supervised autonomous driving tech in Europe, details are emerging about how the company is trying to influence the approval process. According to Reuters, a policy manager is on a roadshow with a polished presentation that overestimates the safety benefits of FSD Supervised. After Tesla obtained approval […]
June 16, 2026
MG has unveiled the new MG 07 in China, a sleek, electrified fastback that gives a first indication of how the brand may further expand beyond SUVs and hatchbacks. The model has not been confirmed for Europe, but its timing is interesting. In Belgium and Luxembourg, MG is preparing to take over its own distribution […]
June 15, 2026
Three months after its world premiere, series production of the all-electric VLE officially kicked off at Mercedes’ plant in Vitoria, Spain. The occasion was deemed important enough to bring the company’s CEO out on site. Ola Källenius, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, attended the production launch ceremony alongside Thomas Klein, Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans. They […]
June 15, 2026
Starting in July 2027, a direct high-speed rail link will be established between Brussels and Basel, Switzerland. “This is a pilot project designed to assess the demand for travel between Brussels and Basel,” says the Belgian public railway company NMBS/SNCB. For this project, NMBS/SNCB, SNCF Voyageurs, and the Swiss operator SBB are joining forces. There […]
June 15, 2026
BMW chose the world’s most famous endurance race to drop the clearest preview yet of its first all-electric M car. You can call it a concept, but we all know that this is as close as it gets to the real thing. The BMW M Concept Neue Klasse celebrated its world premiere at the 24 […]
June 15, 2026
BMW says customers have driven more than 200 million kilometers hands-free with its Highway Assistant, underlining how quickly advanced driver assistance is moving from technology showcase to daily use on European motorways. The German premium brand uses the milestone to position itself among the front-runners in an increasingly crowded field. Ford, Mercedes-Benz, and Tesla are […]
June 12, 2026
To alleviate road congestion, Europe plans to establish a new waterborne freight corridor between Le Havre, Paris, and the Ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam. Both Flanders and Wallonia are allocating significant resources to this large-scale European inland waterway project, now called the Seine-Scheldt, which comprises a network of 1,100 kilometers of navigable waterways. To date, […]
June 12, 2026
Renault Group will not turn itself into a defense company, as Europe’s car industry faces Chinese electric carmakers and the continent’s rush to rebuild military capacity. That was the message from François Provost, CEO of Renault Group, in an interview with Bas Kurstjens of De Tijd and other media during last week’s Automotive News Europe […]
June 12, 2026
Belgium has officially become the fifth EU member state to grant full approval for use of the Tesla FSD self-driving system. After succesful trials with a test vehicle, the Flemish Minister of Mobility, Annick De Ridder (NV-A), has granted approval. As regulatory barriers across Europe continue to fall, Tesla has simultaneously overhauled the pricing model […]
June 12, 2026
Within VW Commercial Vehicles’ range, the ID. Buzz gets most of the spotlights. But the Multivan and its motorhome sibling, the California, just got a significant cosmetic and technological update. The electrified drivetrains remained the same, however. The youngest evolution of both models brings a redesigned front end, an entirely new cockpit, and an upgraded […]
