April 26, 2024
The Council of State is blowing the Brussels government the whistle over its decision to limit the number of shared e-scooters, according to newspapers La Libre Belgique and La Dernière Heure. Brussels Mobility Minister Elke Van den Brandt (Groen) reacted with disappointment but was delighted that the Council did uphold the drop zones and fines […]
April 26, 2024
Automotive supplier Continental has agreed to a 100 million euro fine imposed by prosecutors for its involvement in the notorious dieselgate emissions scandal. The fine was due to a “negligent breach of supervisory duties”, meaning the company undertook too little to inspect responsibility and managers for the supply of engine control units and related software […]
April 26, 2024
On Wednesday, during an extensive joint police and customs control in South Limburg, a motorist was intercepted with outstanding fines totaling at least 6,238,607 euros. The man – an 81-year-old Limburg advertiser – could not pay the amount, causing the police to confiscate his vehicle. Jean-Paul N. was sentenced to four years in prison in […]
April 24, 2024
E-bikes are popular among the elderly, and the number of Belgians buying them is rising. Still, you better use a helmet when you get on your e-bike. According to a recent study from Zurich, the injuries you can suffer in a fall or accident are even more comparable to those of motorcyclists rather than conventional […]
April 23, 2024
According to a study by the Federal Planning Office, the 2012 reform of the Flemish vehicle registration tax (BIV) led to a faster but small decrease in CO2 emissions from new passenger cars in Flanders. The additional impact of the Flemish reform of the annual circulation tax in 2016 and the premium for emission-free cars, […]
April 22, 2024
Low-cost airlines pollute more than ever, the NGO Transport & Environment (T&E) denounces in a new report. All passenger flights taking off in Europe last year emitted as much CO2 as 80 million petrol cars in one year. However, airlines, according to the NGO fighting for more environmentally friendly transport, had to pay for less […]
April 19, 2024
The claims over unjustified name use on car models come in waves. The latest in the line is Volkswagen, which faces a court case from a former supplier over its ID badge. Identytec, a logistics hardware and software provider, is appealing to the court. For over 15 years, the company has used the abbreviation of […]
April 19, 2024
In 2023, 30% of Belgians received a traffic fine, the vast majority for a speeding offense. A survey conducted by Traffic Safety Institute Vias now shows that two out of three drivers do adjust their driving behavior after receiving a speeding ticket. The Federal Highway Police and local police are also organizing the twentieth-speed camera […]
April 15, 2024
Ecolo, the French-speaking Green party in Belgium, remains behind its choice for 100 kph on motorways in Belgium. At the Flemish Green Party, the proposal is no longer to be found in the 2024 election program. Coalition partner Ecolo does want to go full steam ahead with it, writes the newspaper La Dernière Heure, but […]
April 12, 2024
In Paris, the bicycle has overtaken the car as a means of transport and is now behind walking and public transport. According to a survey by the Paris Region Institute (IPR), conducted at the request of some 15 public and private institutions, Parisians use bicycles more, chosen for 11,2% of intramural trips, than cars, with […]
April 12, 2024
The European Parliament has approved stricter CO2 standards for buses and trucks. This includes the requirement that all new buses should be emission-free by 2035 and almost all new trucks by 2040. The European Council still must give the green light, but this is considered a formality. A complete ban on combustion engines for lorries […]
April 12, 2024
Charging stations installed as of tomorrow must be in rule with Europe’s latest standards. Just like conventional fuel forecourts, they will display real-time prices and allow payment through bank cards. The regulations take effect as Europe has finalized its fifth funding round for AFIR (Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulations), largely expanding the continent’s charging infrastructure. The […]
April 12, 2024
Officials failed to reach on agreement on EV subsidies for cars exported from the EU to the US. The recent negotiations were considered a last chance before presidential elections might turn the tables. However, negotiations will continue. The EU and the US have held talks for some time to reach a bilateral agreement over EV […]
April 10, 2024
The business newspaper De Tijd reports that drivers of the Flemish public transport company De Lijn received a record number and amount of traffic fines last year. Altogether, 2,531 traffic violations were recorded, accounting for a fine amount of over 173,000 euros. Compared with 2022, the previous record year, the number of offenses recorded is […]
April 09, 2024
For the first time since August, more than nine out of ten NMBS/SNCB trains ran on time in March, i.e., with less than 6 minutes delay upon arrival in Brussels or at the ultimate destination. According to the NMBS/SNCB, these are “the best punctuality figures since the full resumption of rail traffic after the COVID-19 […]
April 05, 2024
The French-speaking Brussels socialist party PS wants the ban on diesel vehicles with emission class Euro 5, which will apply from January 2025, to be postponed for two years. The socio-liberal DéFI also wants a review of the low-emission zone (LEZ) rules. Energia, the former Belgian Petroleum Federation, in turn, wants the rules around the […]
April 05, 2024
New Jersey, the US’s ‘Garden State’, is imposing the highest road tax on electric vehicles nationwide, requiring a $250 fee yearly, increasing by $10 each year to top off at $290 in 2028. The money is used for the state’s Transportation Trust Fund to maintain roads, railways, and bridges. While EVs worldwide are mostly exempted […]
April 04, 2024
Flemish minister for Mobility Lydia Peeters (Open Vld) has launched a new project call to improve the charging infrastructure for heavy electric commercial vehicles. Not only chargers but also innovative solutions like battery swap stations are eligible for the €3 million subsidy allocation. This isn’t the first time the Flemish government has offered to subsidize […]
April 04, 2024
The fuel mix of Norway’s national fleet is nearing a watershed moment. The share of electric cars is poised to eclipse gasoline cars by the end of the year. As a result, fossil fuel sales are also declining. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are on the verge of outnumbering petrol cars in Norway, signaling a potentially […]
April 02, 2024
The granting of Brussels Airport Company’s new environmental permit is provoking opposed reactions. According to the citizen forum Burgerforum Luchthavenregio, the Flemish government has let down the residents of the surrounding municipalities around the airport. The Federal Ombudsman also feels that health and pollution have not been sufficiently considered. The Flemish liberal political party Open […]
March 29, 2024
Carmakers face a million-euro debacle as telecom operators plan to shut down the 2G network, enabling the compulsory safety system eCall. Considered outdated and inefficient, replacing 2G might trigger a recall for over 36 million cars. Who will pay for the upgrade? In Europe, mobile operators are gearing up to shut down their 2G networks, […]
March 26, 2024
Mobility organization Touring is calling for a moratorium on the Euro 5 ban in Brussels from January 2025. Tightening the allowable emissions standard in the Brussels Region would exclude 850,000 vehicles, including 700,000 passenger cars and 150,000 vans. Touring says a moratorium would encourage a smoother transition to EVs, pending a more diverse and affordable […]
March 25, 2024
Citroën, Tesla, and Volvo are the top three in the applications for a Flemish premium for an electric car. So, reports Mobility Minister Lydia Peeters (Open VLD). Meanwhile, there are already 2,006 completed applications, and almost half of the premiums have already been distributed. A total of 2,006 completed applications have now been received. These […]
March 20, 2024
Renault Group CEO (and current ACEA President) Luca de Meo has addressed a ‘Letter to Europe‘ to “all key decision-makers and stakeholders across Europe”. It’s an “Advocacy for a sustainable, inclusive, and competitive automotive industry.” With just a few months to go before the European elections, this twenty-page document calls for European mobilization “to succeed […]
March 19, 2024
Brussels Airport accounts for 5.41 billion in added value and more than 64,000 jobs. According to a study on the economic impact commissioned by Zaventem Airport, the Universities UAntwerpen and UCLouvain presented these results on Monday. Meanwhile, management and unions at Brussels Airlines also reached an agreement on Monday regarding better pay for cabin crew. […]
March 18, 2024
The European Parliament voted last week for the revision of the European Weights and Dimensions Directive, which would allow 44-ton combinations to cross the borders of member states more easily. This would increase efficiency and lower emissions per cargo unit, but it might also give diesel trucks a more significant advantage. The door has also […]
March 14, 2024
Belgian organic farmer Hugues Falys is taking TotalEnergies to court over the French oil company’s role in climate change. This is the first climate case against a multinational in Belgium. Several human rights and environmental organizations support the case, including Greenpeace and the International Federation for Human Rights. “The climate crisis has a huge impact […]
March 14, 2024
Walloon Environment Minister, Céline Tellier (Ecolo), has declared that the plan for Wallonia to become a Low Emission Zone (LEZ) was “disproportionate, difficult to apply and not very effective.” The Walloon LEZ is now axed, but major cities will be able to introduce restrictions to enhance air quality, not only on vehicles. Introduced in 2019, […]
March 13, 2024
According to Vias’ latest traffic safety barometer, based on figures from the federal police, there were 7% fewer road deaths last year than in 2022. Last year, 483 people died in traffic, compared to 520 in 2022. The Vias Institute is a Belgian knowledge center that aims to improve road safety, mobility, and social safety. […]
March 08, 2024
People often say that women are lousy drivers, but statistics show just the opposite: almost eight in ten road deaths are men. Women are less likely to be involved in serious accidents than men and are generally also less likely to be severely injured in accidents (40% compared to 60% of men). However, it is […]
March 06, 2024
According to a document published on Tuesday and cited by the Reuters news agency, the EU Commission says it has sufficient evidence ‘tending’ to show Chinese EVs were being subsidized, and it will start ‘customs registrations’ on Thursday to prepare for possible retroactive tariffs. That means that import tariffs could be imposed retrospectively if the […]
March 01, 2024
The European Parliament has agreed on a new set of regulations concerning driver’s licenses. One of the plans is to increase the weight limit of electric light commercial vehicles to 4.25 tons to compensate for the loss of payload due to heavy battery packs. But new exam rules, digital licenses, and stricter rules for young […]
February 29, 2024
The European Parliament rejects limiting the validity period of driving licenses for older drivers. Earlier, European Mobility Ministers also agreed that there would be no specific validity restriction on driving licenses for the over-70s. The legislation, which also introduces a digital driving license on smartphones, has yet to be negotiated with members; it emerged on […]
February 29, 2024
Last year, Flanders issued 19 million euros of fines for truck drivers who did not comply with the rules on kilometer tax. That is a record since the system was introduced in 2016. Most of the fines – almost 80 percent – were intended for foreign trucks. The Netherlands, Poland, and Spain, in particular, took […]
February 29, 2024
The Italian government has approached the booming Chinese car manufacturer BYD to build a car plant in the country and confirmed having contact with Tesla and other carmakers. The Meloni government wants to halt the monopoly of Stellantis in that field and has contacted several other manufacturers to come and produce in Italy. “Several carmakers […]
February 26, 2024
At the Geneva Motor Show, Swiss-Italian electric micro-carmaker Microlino unveiled the ‘Lite’ or L6e version of the Microlina L7e, which is the fully electric lightweight quadricycle. This one has a limited maximum speed of 45 km/hour, half of its older brother, with a basic range of approximately 100 km that can be extended up to […]
February 23, 2024
Since the ‘premium window for EVs’ in Flanders opened on 12 February, 3,073 premium applications have been made. Some 2,600 applications were made for new cars, 440 for second-hand cars, 100 for car-sharing, and 40 for vehicles for non-profit organizations. Multiplied by the premium amounts, this amounts to around 15 million euros. Mobility Minister Lydia […]
February 22, 2024
The German Traffic Authority KBA (Kraftfahrt Bundesamt) has discovered that the emissions of toxic gases by some BMW diesel cars have been manipulated by illegal software. According to BMW, 33,000 X3 cars from 2014 or earlier are probably concerned in Germany alone; estimates for the EU are 100,000 to 150,000 in total. BMW says it […]
February 21, 2024
Traffic Safety Institute Vias pleads for the introduction of controls for nitrous oxide – the so-called ‘laughing gas’ – on the road. The drug has gained popularity in recent years, especially among young people. It gives users a buzz similar to that of alcohol and can have a severe influence on one’s driving abilities, so […]
February 19, 2024
With a market share of more than 70%, still according to the estimates of Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, the French-Italian-American automaker comes out on top with 30,000 orders in the social leasing contracts in France. Renault got just over 10,000 orders, according to CEO Luca de Meo. That the difference in terms of sales between […]
February 15, 2024
After successful testing in three departments – Rhône, les Hauts-de-Seine, and l’Eure-et-Loir – France is generalizing the numeric or digital driving license to replace the paper version nationwide. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has announced that motorists must apply for this digital driving license. Pierre Chasseray, general delegate and spokesperson for the motorist’s association ’40 millions […]
February 14, 2024
The Dutch police have a new weapon against high-speed and high-power electric bicycles. They recently introduced a roadside testing platform to check the speed of mopeds, scooters, and other electric vehicles, such as electric bicycles, speed pedelecs, and fat bikes. The roller test benches also check whether these vehicles comply with the applicable legislation. The […]
February 13, 2024
Flemish Minister of Mobility Lydia Peeters (Open Vld) resolutely opts for more structural measures to address the capacity problems at the technical inspection centers. The most remarkable measure is the extension of the periodicity for passenger cars (vehicle category M11). New vehicles were subject to a yearly inspection from the day they turned four years […]
February 13, 2024
On the first day, the Flemish government’s e-counter opened to apply for a premium for a new or second-hand zero-emission vehicle; 1,423 applications were submitted in the first three hours. Most applications are about new cars. Flemish Minister of Mobility and Public Works Lydia Peeters (Open VLD) responds satisfactorily. Of the more than 1 400 […]
February 12, 2024
The share of employees with a ‘mobility budget’ has doubled again in 2023, from 0.2% in 2022 to 0.4% in 2023. This means that one in 250 employees now has a mobility budget. With the federal mobility budget, employees exchange their (right to a) company car for a budget to manage their mobility sustainably. “It […]
February 12, 2024
On Friday, the Flemish government finally agreed to adjust the premium for electric cars: the bonus can only be applied for 2024 and not for three years, as previously announced. Whether the aid will continue after 2024 will be up to the new government, as elections are due in June 2024. The premiums remain the […]
February 12, 2024
The European Council confirmed on Friday an agreement with the EU Parliament on a 90% CO2 emission reduction by 2040 for heavy-duty vehicles and a 100% reduction for buses by 2035. It came after a last-minute debate within Germany’s coalition over the proposal, with the liberal Free Democrats (FDP), the smallest party in the three-party […]
February 07, 2024
According to the plans presented on Tuesday, the European Commission wants to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union by 90% by 2040 compared to 1990 levels. “There’s no other way,” says Wopke Hoekstra, European Commissioner for Climate Action. “The longer the EU waits to take difficult measures, the harder and more expensive it […]
February 07, 2024
Most drivers (98.4%) tested for alcohol during the last winter campaign blew negative. That was the best result since the so-called ‘Bob’ campaigns began in 1995. For comparison, ten years ago, in 2013-2014, 3.2% of drivers were still positive, or twice as many as this year. This winter’s Bob campaign started on Friday, December 1st, […]
February 07, 2024
On Monday, Stellantis Chairman John Elkann dismissed speculation that the Italian-US-French group plans to merge with Renault. “‘No plans are being examined for Stellantis mergers with other manufacturers,’ Elkann said when asked about the rumors. On Tuesday, he also tried to appease the Italian government about Stellantis’ commitment to Italy. Renault, for its part, said […]
February 06, 2024
A young motorist from Ghent (Belgium) has been sentenced to a heavy fine of 1,600 euros for driving his father’s manual BMW while he only had a driver’s license for an automatic car. He also had to hand in his driver’s license for 15 days and take his practical exam. In Belgium, holders of a […]
February 06, 2024
The Council of State is sharply critical of the Flemish government’s draft decision on a premium for the purchase of an electric car. The Council has problems with the ‘first come, first served’ principle and fears due to the limited budget also a possible reduction of the premium in case of too much demand. The […]
February 05, 2024
In a decisive move to combat escalating fuel import costs and worsening air pollution in its cities, Ethiopia has announced a groundbreaking shift in its automotive policies. Transport Minister Alemu Sime calls for an immediate ban on buying fossil-fueled vehicles. What’s 2035 for Europe is today for Ethiopia. Minister Sime revealed that the nation spent […]
February 05, 2024
As of March, the Italian government is activating a new subsidy scheme aimed at decarbonizing its polluting old car fleet. The plan entails substantial aid for lower incomes and incentives for hybridized vehicles and charging infrastructure. Almost one billion euros is put aside for the national clean sweep. The 950 million euro plan was unveiled […]
February 05, 2024
Over 54% of Parisians voted in a referendum to support a proposal by Mayor Anne Hidalgo to triple the parking fee for SUVs, including hybrid and electric cars weighing more than 1,6 and 2 tons, respectively. The vote managed to mobilize only 5,68% of voters or 78,000 Parisians. Under the plan, parking fees for visitors […]
February 01, 2024
A new study by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) indicates that the gap between real-world and official CO2 emission and fuel consumption values of new combustion engine cars increased from 8% to 14% between 2018 and 2022. The average gap, or divergence, between the official and real-world fuel consumption and CO2 emission values […]
January 30, 2024
Belgium will not have a sharp increase in taxes on fossil company cars. After much wrangling, the federal government has agreed on the benefit in kind for diesel and gasoline company cars. The government reached a deal by linking other dossiers to that of company cars. Thus, the annual ceiling of the bicycle allowance will […]
January 30, 2024
Toyota Motor Corp. said today its group sold more cars than any other automaker in 2023, maintaining its lead for the fourth consecutive year as it ramped up production amid an easing chip shortage. The automaker sold a record 11.23 million vehicles globally last year, including those produced by the group’s mini-vehicle maker, Daihatsu Motor […]
January 29, 2024
The public prosecutor’s office in Limburg has announced stricter action against mobile phone use behind the wheel. From February 1st, anyone using his mobile phone or other mobile device while driving a motor vehicle will immediately have to hand in his driver’s license for fifteen days, after which a €174 fine will follow. Similar measures […]
January 26, 2024
Venice will install speed cameras for boats along its world-famous canals. The city hopes this measure will limit the speed of motorized boats and ships, make the city safer, and prevent erosion due to high boat waves. Wave motion – ‘moto ondoso’ in Italian – causes erosion of the canal walls below the waterline, damaging […]
