November 08, 2023
The NGO Transport & Environment (T&E) is furious. The European car manufacturers (ACEA) are fiercely contesting the future Euro 7 standard because it would cost too much. Still, they’ve hiked the prices of their cars substantially, especially of the smaller ones, says a new T&E analysis. “Europe’s five biggest carmakers have raised the prices of […]
October 30, 2023
Cruise, the robotaxi subsidiary of General Motors, has lost its permit to deploy its self-driving cars in California with immediate effect. The decision from the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) follows after investigating a pedestrian accident. Waymo, the competitor to Cruises, can still operate paid driverless rides. To re-install public faith in self-driving technology, […]
October 27, 2023
Belgian courts may force people who commit serious traffic offenses to take a reintegration course from 2024. The aim is to reduce the risk of recidivism, which is currently very high. “It is necessary to take effective long-term measures to correct this dangerous behavior behind the wheel,” says federal Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo). He […]
October 25, 2023
Taxes on EVs should be reviewed soon. If not, the Belgian state will miss out on €1,5 billion yearly tax revenues by 2030. So argue economists Bruno De Borger and Stef Proost, attached to the universities of Antwerp and Leuven, respectively. After all, EVs also create congestion costs, and by taxing them less, they indirectly […]
October 17, 2023
The proposal of the EU to cut CO2 emissions of heavy trucks and buses by 90% from now until 2040 is getting a mixed response from the industry and environmentalists. European car manufacturers federation ACEA wants supporting targets for the infrastructure and transport companies, while Transport & Environment (T&E) feels the short-term targets are too […]
October 16, 2023
The Belgian driver still has a foot that is too heavy. For example, over half (55%) drive too fast in built-up areas at least once a month. One Belgian in four also uses his cell phone behind the wheel. E-step users are also indifferent. Half of Belgians (49%) say they have driven two on such […]
October 13, 2023
According to the highest European Court, an e-bike is not a motorized vehicle. Speed pedelecs and other electric bicycles are, therefore, not covered by compulsory insurance for motor vehicles because they are not driven exclusively by mechanical power. That is what the European Court of Justice states in a judgment in a Belgian case. The […]
October 12, 2023
It all started with one street three years ago. But by 2025, the low-emission zone in Stockholm that will ban all vehicles on gasoline and diesel will expand to twenty living zones and cover 180 000 square meters in the heart of the Swedish capital. The ruling parties call it one of the most ambitious […]
October 10, 2023
Nearly 10 major European cities, including Paris, Brussels, and Rome, have petitioned the European Parliament, demanding stricter standards for air quality and exhaust emissions. The 27 EU member states approved in September a watered-down regulation. This has yet to be negotiated with the European Parliament, which has not yet determined its position. The 27 do […]
October 09, 2023
The Federal Minister of Mobility, Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo), has a preliminary draft ready for a framework law to provide a legal basis for all decisions regarding the operation of Brussels Airport. According to the minister, the text is essential to avoid new legal proceedings over noise pollution, in which the State sometimes has to pay […]
October 03, 2023
Last week, under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the UK government announced a pushback to 2035 from its earlier defined net-zero policies from 2024 to 2030, in line with most EU countries like France, Germany, or Sweden. This mandate regulates the number of ICE cars and vans that can still be sold yearly until the sales […]
October 02, 2023
Jochen De Smet is the current president of EV Belgium, a known facilitator of the energy transition. Being one of the speakers at Mobia’s Mobility Stakeholders Day, he stressed that the technology of this transition is not the problem, but the organization of it, especially the price transparency for the customer. “Europe has been working […]
October 02, 2023
Elia, the transmission system operator of Belgium’s high-voltage grid, has reached an agreement with Flemish Energy Minister Zuhal Demir (N-VA) on increased compensations for residents living near Ventilus. That is the future high-voltage line that will bring electricity from offshore wind farms to Belgium and beyond. West Flanders mayors of the villages involved are reacting […]
September 28, 2023
The German €300 million subsidy pot of the government, providing up to €10 200 for installing an EV wallbox in combination with solar panels and a backup battery, was exhausted in less than one day, the KfW Development Bank reported. The proposed subsidy was offered for private owners of an existing electric vehicle or those […]
September 28, 2023
Last Monday, the 27 EU member states substantially softened the Commission’s proposition for new Euro 7 emissions regulations by 2025. Led by France and Italy (amongst others), the member states feared that this would cost the EU car industry too much and even retard investments in electrification. The member states are hereby responding to the […]
September 28, 2023
Dutch State Secretary for Infrastructure Viviane Heijnen has put some €125 million aside to subsidize the building of new hydrogen tank stations with an adjoining fleet of 10 to 15 hydrogen-driven trucks to ensure profitability. An attempt to solve the eternal chicken-and-egg problem by forcing the transport and energy sectors to shake hands. The new […]
September 27, 2023
The widely spread ANPR cameras along Flemish roads in Belgium have caught 10 714 car drivers in traffic who didn’t pay the yearly road tax in 2022. They got an invoice for immediate payment and an additional €116 fine. Another 384 vehicles were towed away. That filled the Flemish government’s kitty with 5,4 million euros. […]
September 27, 2023
The Flemish government has (re-)installed a premium of €5 000 to purchase a new battery electric vehicle (BEV). For a second-hand one, there’s a subsidy of €3 000. There’s a significant restriction, however: the purchasing price of the BEV has to be less than €40 000, severely reducing the choice of electric cars on offer. […]
September 26, 2023
Austrian Airlines, a subsidiary of Germany’s Lufthansa, can no longer advertise that flying can be “CO2 neutral”. An Austrian court has ruled that. In turn, Carsten Spohr, Lufthansa’s CEO, has hinted that his airline would have to consume half of Germany’s electricity production for its entire fleet to fly on e-fuels. According to the French […]
September 25, 2023
The number of average speed controls on Flemish roads is increasing rapidly. Newspaper De Tijd reports that, according to a survey by Het Laatste Nieuws and news channel VTM, 159 trajectory speed checks are operational today. By the end of the year, this number will more than double to 349. Average or trajectory speed checks […]
September 22, 2023
BMW Motorrad has issued a (temporary) sales ban on all its motorbikes with combustion engines throughout North America. This applies not only to new bikes but also to used ones at dealers. Only the electric model CE 04 is currently released for sale in the US and Canada. BMW emphasized that the sales stop is […]
September 21, 2023
The Prime Minister of the UK, Rishi Sunak (Conservatives), is attempting to water down the UK policy to ban the sale of new combustion vehicles in 2030. The British car industry doesn’t seem happy at all with this policy change. “To give us more time to prepare, I’m announcing that we’re going to ease the […]
September 19, 2023
In The Netherlands, considered one of Europe’s most advanced countries in EV adoption, the enthusiasm to switch to an electric car seems lower than expected. After nine months, the subsidy pot of 100 million euros still has 43 million left. In former years, that subsidy pot was generally plundered by the end of May. Only […]
September 18, 2023
Carmakers can sell small electric cars made in Europe for € 25 000 while making a profit, new research from Transport & Environment (T&E) shows. Falling production costs and battery prices would make mass-market B-segment vehicles feasible to electrify by 2025, according to the study by Transport & Environment (T&E) based on analysis by the […]
September 18, 2023
In January, there will be a central bicycle register in Belgium to fight bicycle theft. Federal Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo) confirmed this in Le Soir newspaper, among others. It is one of the showpieces of the ‘Be Cyclist’ program, which aims to promote the use of bicycles through a series of 52 measures. The […]
September 13, 2023
On Tuesday, the Members of the European Parliament (MEP) updated the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) to raise the share of renewables in the EU’s final energy consumption to 42,5% by 2030. Member states should strive to achieve 45%. The legislation will also speed up procedures to grant permits for new renewable energy power plants, such […]
September 12, 2023
Flemish Mobility Minister Lydia Peeters (Open Vld) will break up the monopoly of car inspection centers in Flanders. In the future, drivers will be allowed to have repairs for certain minor defects carried out by their own garages without having to present themselves again for the technical inspection afterward. In concrete terms, the current centers […]
September 11, 2023
A recent Mozilla Foundation study reveals some shocking facts, and 25 car manufacturers deserve the ‘Privacy Not Included’ warning label in the United States. According to the study, cars have become data-gobbling machines that watch, listen, and collect information about what you do and where you go. While we worry that our connected doorbells or […]
September 07, 2023
The European Commission calls for introducing a standardized disability card recognized throughout the European Union’s 27 member states. The card should simplify travel and free movement for people with disabilities across Europe, one of the core rights of the bloc. “The rights of people with disabilities must not stop at national borders,” says EU Commission […]
September 06, 2023
On Wednesday, Wallonia’s road tax reform was voted in the plenary session of the Walloon parliament. Pushed by Mobility Minister Philippe Henry (Ecolo), the reform has been modified. It aims at taxing cars at registration not only based on their engine size and CO2 emissions but also their weight, which also affects electric vehicles. Taxes […]
September 05, 2023
Rome has not gone as far as Paris, but instead of a total ban, the Eternal City, following the example of Brussels, is limiting the number of rental e-scooters from 14 500 to 9 000 from 1 September. At the same time, the city is also implementing new rules to regulate the use of the […]
September 01, 2023
Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo) is to amend the existing breath test procedure. The possibility of requesting a 15-minute waiting period will be abolished, and the minimum volume of exhaled air will be reduced. Gilkinet has submitted the faster and more efficient measure to the regions and hopes it can come into effect by the […]
August 31, 2023
In Paris, one of 15 000 shared e-scooters can be ridden for the last time today. From September 1st, they will be banned from the French capital, a result of the outcome of a binding referendum held in April. The rental e-scooters were said to cause too much chaos on pavements and unsafe traffic situations. […]
August 30, 2023
Several Flemish companies are getting 6,3 million euros in subsidies to install charging points for their light and heavy commercial vehicles. This should add 1 200 new charging points in Flanders for e-trucks and e-vans. Earlier in the year, the Flemish government opened a call for subsidies for commercial vehicle charging points as part of […]
August 30, 2023
More and more experts warn that European countries struggle to persuade people to switch from ICE cars to EVs. Europe sells ten times more electric cars today than it did six years ago (source: IEA), but its fleet is cleaning up too slowly to meet the agreed climate goals. “What we have learned is that […]
August 25, 2023
The Walloon government has adopted a decree to regulate fleets of shared bicycles and e-scooters in cities and to ensure more sustainable management. The text provides for the Region to grant licenses only to operators who meet various technical requirements, such as vehicle characteristics, but also the sustainability of fleet management. The Walloon municipalities will […]
August 17, 2023
In an effort to further stimulate the adoption of electric vans for goods transport, Belgian Federal Minister for Mobility Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo) has proposed to exempt e-vans with a maximum authorized mass of more than 3,5 tons of their tachograph obligation, the newspaper De Tijd writes. It means that their driving and rest times would […]
August 11, 2023
New global safety regulations that will soon come into effect reportedly force Ford to postpone its European-built all-electric Explorer SUV by about six months into 2024. Production of the new Explorer, unveiled in March 2023, was initially planned to start at the newly opened Electric Vehicle Center in Cologne (Germany) after the summer holidays. According […]
August 01, 2023
Buyers of used Volkswagens in the Netherlands may also be massively eligible for compensation for the carmaker’s cheating software linked to dieselgate. The Dutch Consumers Association (CA) says this is the first time ever in the Netherlands that a judge has awarded compensation to an individual owner of a used VW car with cheating software. […]
July 31, 2023
London intends to expand its ultra-low-emission zone again and, according to the Court, is allowed to do so. In this zone, polluting cars – even with a foreign license plate – must pay a daily surcharge of about 14,50 euros (£12,50). A fine of up to £180 ( more than 200 euros) is imposed if […]
July 28, 2023
A Brussels Court of First Instance has ordered Volkswagen to pay damages to those affected by the cheating software scandal in which it is embroiled. The German carmaker must reimburse them 5% of the purchase price of their car. Consumer organization Test Aankoop/Test Achat (TA) had filed a class action or group claim for this, […]
July 26, 2023
In Etterbeek, near the Shuman traffic circle, the first all-electric fuel station on Brussels territory has opened. Shell’s public charging station has both fast chargers (DC) and regular chargers (AC). It is a break in trend for Brussels, as with the announced era of the electric car and the reduced support for fossil energy exploitation […]
July 24, 2023
The German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimatschutz, or BMWK in German) will increase the budget for the environmental bonus this year. It had initially earmarked €2,1 billion for this purpose in 2023. That will now be increased to at least €2,5 billion. The information comes from a report […]
July 19, 2023
The Flemish government decided to slack off the future ban on Euro 2 gasoline cars and Euro 5 diesel cars in the Low-Emission Zones of Antwerp and Gent, the sole cities in Flanders that actually have a LEZ besides Brussels. Initially due to be effective from January 1st, 2025, the ban will be postponed by […]
July 18, 2023
Belgian airline company Brussels Airlines has filed an official complaint with the European Commission against the “illegal state aid” it claims Charleroi Airport receives. The complaint relates to the terminal navigation charge, which the Belgian air traffic controller Skeyes receives per plane taking off at Brussels Airport. Airlines have to pay part of that amount […]
July 18, 2023
The Flemish government has approved the reinspection of cars by certified garage owners in principle. Flemish Mobility Minister Lydia Peeters (Open Vld) launched the idea because the official inspection centers cannot tackle the bottlenecks, and there is a need for additional capacity. “The technical inspection remains important from a road safety point of view, but […]
July 18, 2023
Cutting battery sizes, improving chemistries, and reducing private car journeys can cut the expected consumption of critical materials in BEVs by 36-49% by 2050, says the NGO Transport & Environment based on a new analysis of a study ordered and conducted by the green group. Demand for battery raw materials in Europe will increase rapidly […]
July 17, 2023
Federal Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo) wants a total ban on night flights from 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. for Zaventem airport. As expected, many political parties, concerned companies, and interest groups reacted sharply and negatively to Gilkinet’s striking proposal to do away with the 16 000-night flights that currently take off from Brussels Airport. […]
July 17, 2023
Last Sunday, Flemish Mobility Minister Lydia Peeters (Open Vld) kicked off a new courtesy and safety campaign for users of the many towpaths in Flanders. The campaign calls for courtesy, safe behavior, and respect for the maximum speed of 30 kilometers per hour on the more than 2 000 towpaths and dyke roads. Speed pedelecs, […]
July 14, 2023
Shared e-scooters will henceforth be welcome in Brussels only if they do not impede other traffic users. The Brussels government has, therefore, approved the decision that tightens the rules for users and operators of e-scooters and other shared vehicles in the micro-mobility category. The decision will come into force this summer, but the changeover to […]
July 14, 2023
More European cities are fighting against heavy ‘obese cars’ like pickup trucks and sports utility vehicles (SUVs). Paris, among others, is moving ahead with a plan to make overweight cars pay more parking fees. Other cities are also growing exasperated by the impact of SUVs. Amsterdam and Brussels, among others, are examining measures to discourage […]
July 14, 2023
In a proposal announced on Thursday, the European Commission said it wants to ban scrap cars that are not roadworthy from being sold to countries outside the European Union. The Commission said the prohibition is part of plans to reduce carbon emissions, create more jobs, and improve access to raw materials like steel and aluminum […]
July 12, 2023
The discussions within the consultation platform on Zaventem airport did not lead to a consensus. This is according to the final report of the platform, which included representation from residents, municipalities, Brussels Airport, trade unions, and governments. Meanwhile, the bill the Belgian government must pay victims of noise pollution for overflying aircraft is running into […]
July 12, 2023
Ministers of the federal and Flemish governments have launched the ‘Stop Aggression’ action plan to tackle the problem of aggression on public transport in Belgium. The 10-point list includes a bus ban for troublemakers, while the demand for controller body cams will be examined. Public railway company NMBS/SNCB received 1 900 reports of aggression against […]
July 10, 2023
Brussels Mobility regularly checks Brussels goods and passenger transport to increase the safety of all road users. The overview of checks carried out over the past three months shows that 20% were in violation. In the past three months, Brussels Mobility carried out 12 control actions in cooperation with various police zones. A total of […]
July 07, 2023
Belgium’s ambition to lead in developing a hydrogen grid was proved once again last Thursday: the plenary of the House of Representatives approved the first hydrogen law to regulate the transport of green hydrogen via pipelines. It may be the first such law worldwide, according to the cabinet of Energy Minister Tinne Van der Straeten […]
July 07, 2023
The European Commission wants to limit the validity of driver’s licenses for people over 70 to five years. After that time, people would be required to undergo a medical examination or take a refresher course. Okra, the association for the elderly, is highly offended by the proposal and calls it “age discrimination”. And also, the […]
July 06, 2023
A survey by the Walloon Road Safety Agency (AWSR) shows that one Walloon driver in two drinks alcohol even if he has to drive afterward. One in four respondents recently drove potentially above the legal alcohol limit of 0,5 grams per liter of blood. To do something about the problem, the ASWR will be distributing […]
July 05, 2023
Former Audi boss Rupert Stadler got off with a suspended prison sentence and a fine after his involvement in the so-called ‘Dieselgate’ scandal. The Munich Regional Court had sentenced Stadler to 21 months of suspended imprisonment and a fine of €1,1 million. Stadler has now appealed against the sentence, just like its two fellow convicted […]
June 28, 2023
The Flemish administration has issued a permit for a link road between the Brussels Ring Road and Parking C at Heysel, according to the business newspaper L’Echo. The link road is considered essential for NEO, the Heysel redevelopment project. However, according to the Flemish Environment Department, the link road has a purely logistical function and […]
