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
Citroën has introduced a refreshed version of the Ami microcar at the 2024 Paris Motor Show, marking the vehicle’s fourth anniversary with notable design updates and a new buggy concept. The updated Ami, known for its quirky style and high accessibility to youngsters, now boasts a “more sympathetic and mature” front design, restyled to pay […]
October 14, 2024
French energy giant Engie is pulling the plug on its Dutch charger daughter EVBox seven years after acquiring it and accumulating €800 million in loss. Attempts failed to find someone to take over the ailing company that installed 550 thousands of charging points worldwide and claims a +20,000 business customer base. The decision, like a […]
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 11, 2024
Renault will publicly unveil the Mobilize Duo or the next-generation Twizy at the Paris Motor Show. Like its spiritual forefather, it’s also available in a cargo version dubbed Bento. As cities worldwide strive for cleaner air and reduced traffic congestion, these two compact yet versatile electric vehicles want to earmark the future of city transportation […]
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
General Motors’ Ultium battery brand name will be discontinued as the company shifts toward incorporating different battery types and chemistries in its electric vehicle (EV) lineup. The move comes as GM aims to cut EV production costs and address the challenges of scaling battery production. Kurt Kelty, GM’s VP of batteries (and a former Tesla […]
October 10, 2024
Rio Tinto Group, the world’s second-largest mining group, is to buy U.S. lithium producer Arcadium Lithium Plc. The British-Australian group is putting 6,7 billion dollars, or 6,1 billion euros, on the table for the acquisition. This is Rio Tinto’s largest deal in 17 years. With the acquisition, the group is betting heavily on lithium, a […]
October 10, 2024
Honda is gearing up to unveil its highly anticipated 0 Series EV lineup, marking a highly anticipated leap forward in the company’s electrification journey. Before the official launch of the first model in 2025, Honda provided a sneak peek of its latest technology at its global R&D center in Tochigi, Japan. The 0 Series must […]
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
Dutch transport company Arriva has ordered 157 new electric buses from VDL. Some buses will be built in the VDL factory in Roeselare, West Flanders. The 157 new-generation Citea buses are destined for the West Brabant region of the Netherlands. Financial details about the order are unknown, but the extra production will not involve new […]
October 08, 2024
The latest ‘Mobility in Figures 2024-2025’ (Mobiliteit in Cijfers) report of the Dutch automotive sector’s RAI and Bovag shows the Netherlands is still one of Europe’s leading countries in rapid electrification. On a total car fleet of 9.4 million, 1.3 million cars (14%) are fully electric or have a hybrid drivetrain. That’s four times more […]
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
In partnership with the waste management group Suez, Renault has announced ambitious plans to make its subsidiary ‘The Future is Neutral’, dedicated to the circular economy, a leading player in Europe. Suez becomes a shareholder in Renault’s branch, which will receive an injection of €140 million to boost its operations and objectives in circularity. During […]
October 07, 2024
On Saturday evening, a 60-meter-long memorial stone was unveiled on the former site of Ford Genk. It is a tribute to all generations of Ford employees. The work, designed by Design studio Brussels LOF in collaboration with illustrator Pieter Van Eenoge, tells Ford’s history in a concrete cartoon. The construction is an imposing bas-relief consisting […]
October 07, 2024
Are EV sales slowing down to near a standstill? Not in Belgium. Despite prevalent perception, EV sales are still soaring, with 96.233 new registrations in the first nine months of 2024, more than in the whole of 2023 (93,180). The same goes for second-hand EVs, 16,004 (January – September 2024) compared to 12,594 all year […]
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
The plans were known before, but now French rail manufacturer Alstom has effectively received an order for 12 new-generation TGVs, as well as 15 years of maintenance, from the new French private train company Proxima. The order involves a sum of nearly 850 million euros. Proxima, one of France’s first independent high-speed train companies, plans […]
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
Tesla has reported strong production and delivery figures for the third quarter of 2024. After producing nearly 410,000 vehicles in the second quarter, the electric car giant boosted output to 469,796 units in Q3 and delivered 462,890 cars to customers. These numbers represent a 14.3% increase in production and a 4.3% rise in deliveries compared […]
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 03, 2024
Norway continues to break records in the shift toward electric mobility. In September, 96.4% of all new car registrations in the country were fully electric vehicles. This new record comes just a month after the previous peak in August 2024, where 94.3% of new cars were electric. The surge in electric vehicle adoption reinforces Norway’s […]
October 03, 2024
On Tuesday, the unions at Audi’s factory in Brussels, threatened by closure, were told at a works council meeting that only one candidate investor for the plant has come forward but didn’t put a viable plan on the table. At the same time, management made a first proposal for a social plan, which the unions […]
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 02, 2024
Last week, Ford Cologne started ramping up production of its two European EVs, the Explorer SUV and the new Capri, a fully electric crossover. Both are up to 70% more Volkswagen than Ford as they extensively use VW’s MEB platform, siblings of the ID.4 and ID.5. Turning the old Fiesta factory into a modern zero-emission […]
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
European aircraft maker Airbus will build a new campus for training and flight operations in its home port of Toulouse. The Toulouse site, the only center in Europe to provide training on all the European aircraft manufacturer’s programs, will accommodate 600 people starting in 2026. Airbus forecasts that more than 40,000 new aircraft could enter […]
October 01, 2024
A group of fifty companies and organizations from the automotive, clean tech, transport, and energy ecosystem that calls itself ‘Industry for 2035’ urges the European Union not to give in to the rising pressure from some car manufacturers and stay firm on car CO2 standards for 2026 and beyond, including the ICE ban from 2035. […]
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 30, 2024
The United Kingdom has marked a historic moment in its energy transition by shutting down the Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station in Nottinghamshire (East Midlands of England). It was the UK’s last remaining coal power plant. Officials have described its closure as a “tremendously important milestone in the global route to decarbonization.” After decommissioning, the site will […]
September 30, 2024
The German-based Centre for Automotive Research (CAM) has released an analysis of EV registrations in Europe’s key markets for the first half of the year. CAM sees a significant opposing trend where the UK is nearing taking the lead from Germany as Europe’s biggest EV market. CAM spots an overall resilience for electric cars, especially […]
September 30, 2024
For the second time, Volkswagen, Germany’s largest automaker, has cut its 2024 revenue and profitability forecasts, signaling a deepening crisis within the German automotive industry. Citing a challenging market environment, the company announced on Friday that it now expects lower sales and earnings than previously projected. Volkswagen initially forecasted a revenue increase of up to […]
September 27, 2024
European aircraft maker Airbus is reorganizing its production to better respond to supply chain disruptions and its main competitors, the American Boeing and the ambitious Chinese Comac. It is doing so under the banner ‘LEAD!’. The new strategy includes structurally improving performance by simplifying the organization, cost savings, and not hiring new staff, but there […]
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
British chemical giant Ineos inaugurated the largest solar park in Wallonia on Thursday in Jemeppe-sur-Sambre, in the province of Namur. Over 100 guests, including Sophie Wilmès, Vice-President of the European Parliament, and Cécile Neven, Walloon Minister for Energy and the Air-Climate Plan, attended the inauguration. The Ineos Park will cover a 30-hectare zone—the equivalent of […]
September 27, 2024
Belgium’s automotive market outperforms most European markets in reducing CO₂ emissions from new cars. According to Febiac and the European Environment Agency data, Newspaper De Tijd reports that the average emissions from new cars in Belgium decreased by over 40% between 2019 and 2023. This is significantly better than the EU average reduction of 27%, […]
September 26, 2024
BYD marked a significant milestone on September 25th, as the Chinese automaker celebrated the production of its nine millionth new energy vehicle (NEV). The landmark car, a Yangwang U9 electric supercar, crowned the event. The achievement symbolizes BYD’s rapid growth and expansion in the electric vehicle market. Two months ago, BYD reached its eighth millionth […]
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
French carmaker Peugeot has finished homologating the new Long-Range versions of its electric SUVs. Thanks to a larger 96,9-kWh battery, the e-3008 now claims up to 700 km of range, while the 7-seater e-5008 follows with up to 668 km of range. The new 230 Long Range powertrain shared by the two electric SUVs features […]
September 24, 2024
Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt, Europe’s unicorn start-up in the electric vehicle (EV) battery market, announced it will cut 1,600 jobs. The number accounts for roughly 20% of its global workforce. The decision comes as the company faces significant financial challenges and a slowdown in the EV market. The cuts will disproportionately affect Sweden, with around […]
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 24, 2024
August was a turbulent month for the European automotive market, with notable winners and losers among car manufacturers. Overall, vehicle sales dropped by 17%, as reported by Dataforce, but a few brands managed to defy the trend with impressive gains. Volvo’s soon-to-be-built-in Ghent EX30 continues its winning streak, while Chinese newcomer Omoda outperforms established names […]
September 23, 2024
Luxury automaker Mercedes-Benz has revised its annual profit target downward for the second time this year, citing a challenging economic climate, particularly in China. This revised forecast follows a similar downgrade earlier this year due to weak second-quarter results. As the headwinds for German car makers grow stronger by the day, Berlin has set up a […]
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
An international conference aimed at boosting the revival of nuclear energy is started in Paris under the auspices of the OECD and the Swedish government. About 15 ministers from pro-nuclear countries are participating in the second edition of ‘Roadmaps to New Nuclear 2024’, which examines concrete ways to meet global commitments to increase nuclear power […]
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 […]
