October 06, 2026
Arval has recruited one of the top executives of its biggest European rival, Ayvens, to lead the company through its next phase. Annie Pin, currently Chief Commercial Officer at Ayvens, will become CEO of Arval on 1 April 2027, shortly after the BNP Paribas leasing subsidiary completed its major acquisition of Athlon. Pin will join […]
October 05, 2026
The European climate agency Copernicus concludes that last summer was the hottest Western European summer on record. The average temperature was 21.7 degrees, 2.5 degrees warmer than the 1991-2020 summer average, according to the latest Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) European Summer Review 2026, published on 2 October. Copernicus highlights the far-reaching consequences of these climate […]
October 02, 2026
Transport & Environment says Europe is on track to produce enough battery cells to meet its own demand by 2030. On paper, that sounds like a major step toward independence from Asia. But recent failures, delays, and new Chinese investments in Europe show that the reality is more complicated. According to the environmental lobby group […]
October 02, 2026
After entering the European market with cars under the MG brand, the Chinese SAIC group is now bringing electric buses to the old continent under the same brand name. And the specifications could give the competition reason to worry. MG Commercial has announced it will start selling electric buses in Europe. There is a growing […]
October 02, 2026
Five months after Hyundai unveiled the China-developed IONIQ V, the electric fastback has now reached Chinese showrooms. Its most striking feature is no longer its futuristic styling or 800-volt architecture, but its price: even the version offering up to 650 kilometers of range costs less than €17,000 in China. Beijing Hyundai officially launched the IONIQ […]
October 01, 2026
Yet another Chinese EV brand is knocking on Europe’s door, but this very young AIVA comes with unusually heavyweight parents. The brand, backed by Seres and battery giant CATL, has chosen Paris for the global debut of its first production model, the ME7. European sales, however, have not yet been confirmed. AIVA was created in […]
October 01, 2026
The BMW Group is investing around €2 billion in vehicle production and battery manufacturing to underscore Germany’s importance as a production hub. The company is ensuring that its plants are ready for the next generation of the BMW 3 Series. The 3 Series has been the heart of the BMW brand for over 50 years. […]
October 01, 2026
BYD is radically overhauling its cheapest electric car. The second-generation Seagull, sold in Europe as the Dolphin Surf, grows by more than 40 centimeters, gains considerably more power, and moves upmarket with features including a massage seat, a sizeable frunk, and optional LiDAR. In European terms, the little Chinese city EV is emerging as a […]
October 01, 2026
Electric cars may retain considerably more of their value than conventional leasing calculations suggest. A new analysis by Transport & Environment (T&E) claims that the residual-value gap between battery-electric and combustion cars could be around 80% smaller once taxation, subsidies, inflation and falling new-EV prices are taken into account. Based on 2025 used-car transaction data […]
October 01, 2026
Stellantis is halting production at its French plants in Sochaux, Rennes, and Mulhouse for at least one week. In two cases, this is due to EV battery shortages, as supplier ACC struggles to meet demand for its nickel-based long-range batteries. According to Reuters, the plants in Sochaux and Rennes are temporarily halting production due to […]
September 30, 2026
Volkswagen has agreed on new joint ventures with its Chinese battery partner Gotion to bring LFP production to Europe. The move must speed up the switch from NMC to cheaper LFP chemistries while complying with the European Commission’s new Made in Europe draft. The deal between VW and Gotion reorganizes three projects already under construction […]
September 29, 2026
Recently, yet another stir arose over the status of company cars in Belgium. As part of federal budget negotiations, the Planning Bureau listed more than 250 cost-saving options, including one that sparked considerable debate: eliminating or reducing tax benefits for company cars and fuel cards. Once implemented, that could generate 4,5 to 5,5 billion, nearly […]
September 29, 2026
The Belgian car market seems to have finally turned toward electrification. But mobility organization Touring says the transition is largely due to company cars, and warns that issues remain for private buyers. For example, the ease and cost of public charging. For the first time ever, there are more hybrid and electric cars on the […]
September 29, 2026
Volkswagen has confirmed what unions already leaked at the beginning of the year: its facelifted ID. 4 will return as the ID. Tiguan. The German carmaker has released camouflaged photos ahead of the world premiere in October, around the Paris Motor Show. Change in strategy As we reported back in January, IG Metall first let […]
September 29, 2026
Geely Auto, the mother company of Volvo and Polestar, has taken a 30% stake in Nio Power, the battery-swapping and charging unit of its Chinese rival. The interest seems bizarre. Barely a week earlier, Geely unveiled a fast-charging technology that makes swapping redundant. Only a few days ago, Geely unveiled a 2.2 Megawatt charger, topping […]
September 28, 2026
At InnoTrans 2026 in Berlin, the Swiss train manufacturer Stadler unveiled the world’s first hydrogen-powered train developed specifically for narrow-gauge railways. In collaboration with 3 Italian rail operators, Stadler is building 21 trains for Sardinia, Calabria, and Sicily. 10 of these hydrogen-powered trains will save more than 2,100 tonnes of CO2 per year compared to […]
September 28, 2026
Kia is fitting its PV5 Chassis Cab with an optional 71.2 kWh battery, nearly 40 percent larger than the 51.5 kWh pack the conversion-friendly van launched with late last year. The long-range version of the PV5 keeps the 120 kW motor and adds 10-80 percent DC fast charging in about 30 minutes, with a full […]
September 28, 2026
The Belgian road safety group Johanna has put Tesla’s self-driving system, FSD, to the test and found that it continuously breaks the speed limit. Worse: it lies to the driver about the ruling speed limit even though it reads it correctly. A Tesla running Full Self-Driving broke the speed limit in 55% of the 30 […]
September 25, 2026
Geely Auto has unveiled a 2.25-megawatt smart-charging system that charges its electric cars from 10 to 70% in four minutes and 30 seconds. That is roughly thirty seconds quicker than BYD’s latest Flash Charging 2.0 platform, the previous benchmark. The company officially announced the record-breaking charging system at its Safety Center in Ningbo. It’s not […]
September 25, 2026
Renault has announced it will invest 600 million in two of its Spanish plants by 2030. This will allow the brand to produce new models and secure 6.000 jobs in the region. The goal is to prepare the group’s plants in Valladolid and Palencia to produce five new vehicles, including two electric cars. The investment […]
September 25, 2026
Canadian bumper manufacturer Plasman is closing its Ghent factory, costing more than 300 jobs. The announcement follows an earlier decision by axle-parts supplier Benteler to shut its nearby site next spring. The local supply network that once sustained Volvo’s assembly line is now effectively gone. But how come? Remaining production evaporated Plasman throwing in the […]
September 25, 2026
According to the data of the European Car Manufacturers Association (ACEA), EU car registrations increased by 4.5% in August and by 5.3% for the first 8 months (year-to-date), against a backdrop of rising energy prices and persistent geopolitical uncertainty. Demand for a range of electrified vehicles remained strong (68.3% of the total market for new […]
September 24, 2026
Brussels Airport is the first European airport to test a mobile blending facility to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The project is the final phase of the Stargate project, established with the support of the European Commission, through which the airport has explored more than 30 sustainability measures in recent years. “We remain committed to […]
September 24, 2026
Volkswagen is adjusting production at several German plants as demand shifts faster than expected from combustion cars toward electric vehicles. Wolfsburg will build fewer ICE cars than initially planned, while EV production in Emden and Zwickau is increasing. “Turning point” The reversal is striking. Not so long ago, Volkswagen struggled with underutilized EV factories and […]
September 24, 2026
Chinese carmakers grabbed a record share of the European car market last month. But their advance is increasingly driven by plug-in hybrid sales. As many as one in three PHEVs now carry a Chinese badge. Chinese brands accounted for almost 12% of European new-car sales in August, according to figures from German market researcher Dataforce. […]
September 24, 2026
Nissan presents its electric microcar as the Pixo. It is closely related to the Renault Twingo Electric and the new Dacia Spring. All three electric vehicles will roll off the production line at the Renault plant in Novo Mesto, Slovenia. Nissan is scheduled to start deliveries of the Pixo in early 2027. Pricing remains a […]
September 23, 2026
Geely Auto Benelux is adding two new Belgian dealerships to its network. The expansion coincides with the arrival of the E2, a sub-€20,000 electric hatchback poised to give Western brands a run for their money in Europe. Nivelles and Genk In the six months after the Chinese brand – part of the holding with the […]
September 22, 2026
Hyundai has revealed its new Tucson at a South Korean media event. Design-wise, the 5th generation of the popular mid-size SUV takes a completely different direction from the current model, launched in 2020. Hyundai is planning a major global product offensive over the coming years, including more than 40 new models in Europe alone. They will […]
September 22, 2026
BMW has increased production of the iX3 at its Debrecen plant from two to three shifts this month, effectively moving to round-the-clock manufacturing. The reason is strong demand: BMW has already said that 100,000 orders for the iX3 have been placed in Europe alone, and BMW North America is accelerating the market launch of the […]
September 22, 2026
Alpine’s electric expansion appears to be doing more than simply increasing volumes. Almost 80% of A290 buyers come from outside Renault Group’s existing customer portfolio, while the electric hot hatch now accounts for 70% of all Alpine sales. Those two figures offer perhaps the clearest indication yet that Renault Group’s decision to turn Alpine from […]
September 22, 2026
Electric cars come with a few side costs that make them rather unique. The charging post is one of them. A Dutch company now offers to lease the charger first instead of paying the upfront cost. Similar initiatives are emerging in other countries. Service model Charging is increasingly turning into a service model. Two parallel […]
September 22, 2026
Humanoid robots are reshaping the factory floor, especially in China. Toyota is joining the bandwagon, targeting 400,000 units to modernize its production infrastructure. Can the bots take over from humans? Toyota has told investors it may need 400,000 robots and roughly 1 trillion yen ($6.4 billion) a year from 2028 to upgrade its factories. The […]
September 22, 2026
Car industry workers protested across Germany on Monday, calling on management at major brands including Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz to secure jobs and provide a future outlook. Meanwhile, these important German manufacturers warn of factory closures or additional cost cuts. “Just like here at Volkswagen, workers in the automotive and supply industries are gathering all over […]
September 22, 2026
As poetic as a contrail – or condensation trail – may be, the white trails left behind by high-altitude aircraft are not nearly as harmless as they appear. Although they come from only a small fraction of flights, they contribute to global warming at a level comparable to aviation’s CO2 emissions. A new report by […]
September 21, 2026
Flanders Minister of Mobility, Annick De Ridder (NV-A), has published the first safety data from three months of Tesla’s supervised self-driving system on Belgian roads. The encouraging results report only five minor incidents. At the same time, FSD had its deadliest month in the US. Since June, owners of Teslas equipped with FSD are allowed […]
September 21, 2026
Skoda CEO Klaus Zellmer, who has led the Volkswagen Group subsidiary to record profits while expanding its full-electric lineup, will succeed Hakan Samuelsson as chief executive officer and president at Volvo Cars. The appointment aims to bring proven leadership in electrification and profitability as Volvo navigates intense competition in premium electric vehicles and prepares to […]
September 17, 2026
Volvo’s Gent factory is saved. During the Strategy 2026 call, the carmaker has confirmed that a second brand will roll off its production lines in the near future. No concrete names were unveiled, but a Geely-model seems most likely. No factory closures The employees at Volvo Car Gent can take a sigh of relief. During […]
September 17, 2026
It has sold 1.8 million units across 70 countries since it was launched ten years ago. Still, it never made it to European shores. Until now. Nissan will build the Kicks in the UK to fill the slot from the outgoing combustion-engined Juke. But it’s a different type of species. Manufactured at the Sunderland plant […]
September 17, 2026
A year after the premiere of the new BMW iX3, the company has announced that 100,000 customers in Europe alone have ordered the vehicle. BMW said this is the best first-year start any of its models have ever experienced. The company also said there is strong interest in the electric car in other markets such […]
September 16, 2026
Chinese manufacturer Li Auto has confirmed its presence at this year’s Paris Motor Show in October. It will show the European version of its electric Li i6 SUV, and detail its further plans for the brand. There seems to be no end to the number of Chinese manufacturers wanting to expand to Europe. Next in […]
September 15, 2026
Volvo calls it a bridge to full electrification. But with a battery big enough to eclipse most rivals and a petrol engine kept firmly in reserve, Volvo’s new PHEVs look more like a remedy for a slower-than-hoped EV transition. Nevertheless, the figures are impressive. Volvo has launched plug-in hybrid versions of its XC60 and XC90 […]
September 15, 2026
The IAA Transportation in Hannover shows how quickly electric trucks are shifting gears: beyond regional deliveries into long-haul and even heavy transport. European manufacturers are pushing range and payload, but Chinese – and one famous American – newcomers are turning the technological race into a commercial battle. Change in the making Electric trucks have been […]
September 15, 2026
Most of Europe’s biggest airports plan to expand to accommodate more passengers in the coming years. Transport & Environment (T&E), a European NGO focused on sustainable transportation, assessed the expansion plans and traffic forecasts of twenty of Europe’s largest airports in ten countries against a Paris Agreement-compliant 1,7°C carbon budget. And guess what? By 2050, […]
September 15, 2026
Stellantis Pro One revealed the autonomous BOW delivery concept at the IAA Transportation in Hannover. This delivery pod offers a glimpse of a future where selling vans and services will be replaced by a complete logistics ecosystem. The BOW, or Box On Wheels, wasn’t a surpise unveiling. Stellantis Pro One already teased the innovative concept […]
September 15, 2026
Renault’s new Trafic Van E-Tech electric has been named International Van of the Year 2027, even before the first customer vehicles hit the road. The 26-member jury voted unanimously for Renault’s new mid-sized electric van at the IAA Transportation show in Hanover. The award is Renault’s sixth IVOTY title, but the more interesting question is […]
September 15, 2026
Fleet buyers just got a serious alternative: the Kia PV7 offers more cargo space, longer range and faster charging than current midsize rivals. The longer version taps in on the success of the PV5, which has rapidly become Europe’s best-selling small electric van. Kia has unveiled the PV7 at IAA Transportation in Hannover. The XL […]
September 14, 2026
Geely is using the IAA Transportation in Hannover to showcase its newest products in the commercial vehicle segment. After the Farizon SV and V7E, the Chinese company premieres its electric Homtruck. Geely is no stranger to those following mobility developments coming from China. It is the holding company which owns Volvo, Polestar, Lotus and Zeekr, […]
September 14, 2026
Two months after opening the Belgian order books for the B03X, Leapmotor has released the full European specification of its compact electric crossover. The €24,900 starting price remains unchanged, but the final range figures, equipment details and unusually practical interior now give a clearer picture of how Stellantis’ Chinese partner intends to attack Europe’s crowded […]
September 14, 2026
Renault will not follow Chinese rivals into ever-shorter vehicle development cycles. CEO François Provost says around two years is effectively the lower limit for an all-new platform and its first model if the French group wants to preserve proper testing, validation and quality. That is a striking line for a company that has spent the […]
September 14, 2026
BMW M is preparing a conspicuously old-school birthday present for the Nürburgring. To mark the German circuit’s centenary in 2027, it is launching six M cars and three M motorcycles in a ‘100 Jahre Nürburgring’ edition, all finished in historical Nürburgring Green and dressed with Nordschleife references. The timing is almost more interesting than the […]
September 14, 2026
Barely a week after confirming the car’s discontinuation in the U.S, Volvo has announced a facelift for the EX40, its oldest electric model. The modest update brings new styling, more power and a heat pump as standard. The EX40 began life in 2019 as the XC40 Recharge, making it one of the earliest mass-market electric […]
September 13, 2026
BMW is moving its hydrogen program another step closer to series production. The next-generation iX5 Hydrogen is undergoing real-world testing while prototype assembly, supplier industrialization, and production preparations are running in parallel. Technically, BMW is increasingly demonstrating that a hydrogen passenger car can work. The harder question in 2026 is whether enough customers will still […]
September 11, 2026
After BYD, Geely is joining the race to superfast charging. The company claims it is running test cars in China filling up in five minutes at 1.800 kW superchargers. Europe is also on the radar. Tesla once built an empire by selling electric cars accompanied by the charging stations that power them and that could […]
September 11, 2026
After the Renault Scenic got an update, its Japanese twin model gets the same treatment, upgrading to two battery options, increasing range to 650 kilometers. Mitsubishi has updated the Eclipse Cross with two new battery choices, ditching the previous single 87 kWh pack for a more flexible two-tier lineup. Whereas Mitsubishi only offered the larger […]
September 10, 2026
The White House thinks Ford has gone soft on Beijing. But CEO Jim Farley believes that Chinese players are ahead of the game and that you need to join them cause you can’t beat them. The paradox keeps Ford in a tight space. US Transport Secretary Sean Duffy fired off a letter this week demanding […]
September 10, 2026
The days when an end-of-life car disappeared into a scrapyard are increasingly numbered. Belgian vehicle recycling already recovers 98% of a scrapped car’s weight, but the next challenge is more ambitious: keeping complete parts in use rather than reducing everything to raw materials. West-Flemish dismantler Autohandel Didier, founded in 1993 by Didier Vanwijnsberghe, illustrates how […]
September 10, 2026
The new Pixo will revive a badge that was ditched in 2013. Can Nissan make a mark with its Japanese version of the Renault Twingo E-Tech in the booming affordable EV segment? To be clear: Nissan hasn’t unveiled the Pixo yet. But on World EV Day, the Japanese brand confirmed what everybody already suspected: the […]
September 09, 2026
Volkswagen is preparing to launch a long-wheelbase version of its ID. Buzz Cargo. The LWB passenger version is already available, but now the van-version follows suit. At a brand event in Berlin, Volkswagen has unveiled a long wheelbase version of its electric ID. Buzz Cargo van. The longer wheelbase will bring several improvements for professional […]
September 09, 2026
The Norwegian fertilizer giant Yara inaugurated Europe’s largest CO2 capture plant on Monday in Sluiskil (the Netherlands), near the Belgian border. The aim is to capture up to 800,000 tons of CO2 from its ammonia production every year, or about 0.5 percent of the Netherlands’ total annual emissions, and store it permanently. The plant completes […]
September 09, 2026
As the electric Folgore strategy has failed on the Italian trident brand, the car maker has reached out to the Chinese smart-car tech company Huawei and the manufacturer JAC to explore a collaboration. The question is what this could entail for the brand’s defined Italian luxury image, as well as its prospects on the US […]
