Nissan Pixo returns as Renault Twingo with a Japanese twist

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 […]

Belron booms, car sales slump: D’Ieteren changes CEO

September 10, 2026

D’Ieteren Group is changing drivers at a remarkably sensitive moment. Francis Deprez will step down as CEO in December after seven years at the helm and will be replaced by Belgian investment specialist Eric Machiels. The announcement comes barely a week after D’Ieteren Automotive put 344 Belgian jobs at risk – and as the group […]

D’Ieteren cuts jobs but doubles down on Belgium’s hypercar appetite

September 09, 2026

Only days after announcing a restructuring that could put 344 jobs at risk, D’Ieteren Automotive has opened a new Bugatti showroom and workshop in Drogenbos, south of Brussels. At first sight, the timing could hardly be more contradictory. In reality, it says a lot about where Belgium’s biggest car importer thinks money will still be […]

Maserati in advanced talks with Chinese Huawei to build cars together

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 […]

Polestar Formula 2030: a pretty face for ugly numbers

September 08, 2026

The Swedish EV brand Polestar has unveiled a first glimpse of what the new 2 and 7 will look like. Is the timing of the design meant to mask the tough news that accompanied the latest publication of its balance sheet? Geely-owned Polestar has pulled back the curtain on the Formula 2030 design study at […]

Ten-month wait for ID. Polo as VW’s cheap EV family takes off

September 08, 2026

With Volkswagen and its dealer body reporting strong demand, the new ID. Polo looks like an instant hit. The Skoda Epiq and Cupra Raval, built on the same platform, show initial signs of similar success. The launch of more affordable EV’s seems to capture the interest of European buyers. The waiting list for VW Group’s […]

New €17,900 Dacia Spring brings EV costs into Sandero territory

September 08, 2026

Dacia has officially unveiled the second-generation Spring, and the biggest change is not its tougher design or slightly longer range. Europe’s cheapest electric car is no longer a low-cost Chinese import. The new Spring will be built at Renault Group’s Novo Mesto plant in Slovenia, with an expected starting price in Europe of €17,900. Belgian […]

ICCT: EVs cost 33% less to drive as battery prices tumble

September 07, 2026

According to a report from the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), the financial case for battery cars has tipped into positive territory across much of Europe. At the heart of the transition sit lower battery prices. As the oil market is increasingly pressurized, the cost gap with combustion engines is projected to widen further. The […]

Geely’s €20,000 E2 hits Benelux showrooms backed by 24 outlets

September 07, 2026

Three weeks after Geely announced its €20,000 E2 for Belgium and the Netherlands, the compact EV is moving from announcement to reality. The first cars have reached Belgian showrooms, while Dutch dealers are opening their doors for orders and test drives. And Geely is not relying on a handful of experimental outlets: the brand already […]

Mazda CX-6e driven: European manners, Chinese-tech cabin

September 07, 2026

When we first met the Mazda CX-6e at its static Belgian presentation in June, the central question was obvious: can an electric SUV developed together with Changan and built in China really feel like a Mazda? After roughly three hours behind the wheel around Düsseldorf, the answer is clearer. On the road, surprisingly often yes. […]

Range Rover Electric: a V8 without the emissions

September 04, 2026

Range Rover’s first battery-powered car is a flagship model that promises V8 prowess without the emissions from gasoline. According to the brand, it is a Range Rover first and an electric second. But is that good enough to persuade the wealthy buyers who sidestepped the electric Mercedes G-Class? Maybe the real competitor here is exactly […]

D’Ieteren puts 344 jobs at risk as traditional car sales lose ground

September 04, 2026

D’Ieteren, Belgium’s largest car importer, has announced a major restructuring that could put up to 344 jobs at risk. The Volkswagen Group importer says the traditional model built around selling new cars no longer reflects market reality. The stock-quoted group wants to shift its focus further toward mobility services and longer-term customer relationships. D’Ieteren presented its […]

Leapmotor leaves China’s EV start-up pack behind and EU takes notice

September 03, 2026

Leapmotor has surpassed the 100,000-car monthly delivery threshold for the second month in a row, underscoring just how quickly the Chinese EV maker is moving from start-up status to a global volume player. The company delivered a record 103,129 vehicles in August, 80.7% more than a year earlier and slightly above July’s 101,267 units. That makes […]

Polestar expands the 4 range with an SUV that’s really an estate

September 03, 2026

The eagerly anticipated Polestar 4 SUV adds a rear window to the original concept. The model loses one of its most distinguishing features in exchange for more practicality. Is this car the one Polestar should have launched from the start? Polestar has finally done the obvious thing. The original 4, which is still the brand’s […]

Belgian speed pedelec gets two motors and 200-km range

September 02, 2026

Belgian speed-pedelec start-up Specter has started production of its second-generation Specter 2, promising up to 200 kilometers of range and two-wheel drive. But the real achievement may be less spectacular than those headline figures: Specter has found a way to make much of the technology of its €10,000-plus first generation considerably more affordable, while bringing frame […]

Tesla’s magic trick: more range from poorer rubber

September 02, 2026

Last week, Tesla updated its European configurator to show a WLTP range of 572 kilometers for the base rear-wheel-drive Model 3. Up from 534 kilometers, that’s an impressive gain. Especially because no new motor or cell chemistry swap was involved. Just new shoes from an Indonesian tire manufacturer that don’t bode well, based on initial customer […]

How Belgium turned MINI into a fleet car: Accent orders record 500 EVs

September 02, 2026

MINI used to be the kind of car employees wanted, but fleet managers hesitated to buy. In Belgium, that image has changed remarkably quickly. HR group Accent has now ordered 500 fully electric MINIs, the largest single EV order in MINI history worldwide. The cars, mainly Aceman and Countryman Electric models, will be deployed across […]

Febiac: Belgian car market recovers as EVs grab record 46% share

September 02, 2026

The Belgian new-car market continued to claw back its poor start to 2026 in August. Registrations rose by 8.3% year-on-year to 28,295 cars, while fully electric models took a record 46.2% of the market. Yet the headline growth needs some perspective: August had one more working day than last year, and volumes remain well below […]

Finnish Suvia buys Belgium’s largest body repair chain AutoRepairGroup

September 01, 2026

Belgium’s biggest independent body repair network is changing ownership. After a period under the umbrella of a private equity firm, AutoRepairGroup has been acquired by its Finnish peer Suvia. It reads as an early sign of a consolidation wave that will ripple through the sector as electric vehicles are rewriting the playbook. AutoRepairGroup runs fourteen […]

BMW delays agency sales again: if it works for MINI, why wait until 2028?

September 01, 2026

BMW is reportedly postponing the introduction of its agency sales model in Germany until mid-2028, more than two years later than originally planned. That seems strange, as BMW continues to insist that the same model is working successfully at MINI. The explanation may be that MINI demonstrated both the potential and the complexity of taking […]

BYD profits rise for first time in five quarters as overseas sales surge

August 31, 2026

After four straight quarters of decline, BYD has managed to reverse the trend. The world’s largest EV maker, which was struggling in an overheated home market, posted a second-quarter net profit of 8.2 billion yuan (roughly 1.05 billion euros). That is a 30 percent year-on-year jump and the first time profitability has risen since early […]

Renault’s new Trafic enters EV van battle: 450 km is only the start.

August 31, 2026

Renault will use the IAA Transportation show in Hanover to take the next commercial step with its completely new Trafic Van E-Tech electric. The van itself is no longer a secret: the definitive production version was shown at Solutrans last November. What appears to be new on September 14 is the opening of the order […]

Lotus’s electric revolution is over, now comes the rescue plan

August 28, 2026

Lotus is growing again, but its latest half-year results also confirm how radically the British sports-car brand has had to rewrite its future. Deliveries rose 39% in the first half of 2026, yet Europe went backward, losses remain heavy, and the parent company, Geely, has had to inject another $128 million. The all-electric revolution is over. […]

Xiaomi shifts into gear for 2027 assault on Europe’s premium car elite

August 27, 2026

Xiaomi has taken another concrete step towards becoming a global carmaker. The tech giant, often referred to as the ‘Chinese Apple’, has launched a dedicated international website and overseas social-media channels for Xiaomi Auto. The site is explicitly stating that its cars are “officially coming to Europe in 2027”. More tellingly, the site already includes […]

D’Ieteren: ‘Second-hand EVs retain 95.9% battery capacity on average’

August 26, 2026

More than 2,500 battery analyses performed by D’Ieteren Automotive’s second-hand car divisions, My Way and Audi Approved, prove that modern EV batteries retain their battery capacity remarkably well.  The average State of Health (SoH) was 95.9% for the entire EV car population measured. The analyses were executed in collaboration with MOBA, an expert in battery […]

Hyundai goes all-out: 41 European launches in global product blitz

August 26, 2026

Hyundai is preparing the biggest product offensive in its history, with more than 100 launches and model updates planned worldwide by 2030, including 41 for Europe alone. But behind the headline lies a more interesting strategy: the Korean group no longer wants to bet on a single drivetrain everywhere. North America will lean on hybrids, […]

Mahle thinks drop-in range extenders can accelerate path toward cleaner trucks

August 26, 2026

Range anxiety is genuinely a more cumbersome problem in heavy haulage than in passenger cars. Stuttgart supplier Mahle thinks the answer is not bigger batteries but a compact generator where some of those batteries used to sit. The concept will be presented at the next IAA Transportation in Hannover, next month. In the truck sector, […]

Chinese brands hit record market share in Europe, targeting 30% by 2030

August 25, 2026

Chinese brands closed in at 11.2% of the European market in July, according to figures from Dataforce. They never reached a higher penetration since their expansion into the EU. It is nearly double the 5.6% they claimed in the same month last year, and it cements a trend that should worry anyone still thinking of […]

Opel’s next-generation Corsa is EV-only and comes in 2028

August 25, 2026

Opel is preparing a rival for the Renault 5 E-Tech and the Volkswagen ID.Polo. But don’t expect it anywhere soon. The new all-electric Corsa is suffering from delays and won’t arrive before 2028. Opel CEO Florian Huettl has unveiled further details about the upcoming Corsa. Even though parent company Stellantis has softened its stance on […]

Chinese-built Ioniq V might land in Europe, but not in Zeebrugge

August 25, 2026

When Hyundai unveiled the Ioniq V at the Beijing Auto Show four months ago, the assumption still was that there was no genuine plan to bring the futuristic-looking electric hatchback to Europe. But Hyundai’s CEO talks openly about exporting China-built cars westward, and the V might be good enough to get an international travel passport. […]

Emergency door handle triggers China’s largest recall action in history 

August 24, 2026

China just launched the largest coordinated vehicle recall in its history. More than 4.3 million cars from at least ten brands are heading back to the workshop because of the mechanical emergency release inside the cabin. Tesla is the biggest single name on the list. Illegal in 2027 The use of electrically actuated flush door […]

Genesis presents electric flagship GV90: not subtle, but slated for Europe

August 21, 2026

Genesis just pulled the wraps off its GV90 flagship SUV. A newcomer in the electric segment that is impossible to ignore. The setting, in San Francisco, might seem fitting for a 5.2-meter-long behemoth. But here’s the thing: it is heading toward Europe as the largest battery-electric vehicle you can buy. The GV90 is the production […]

Semi truck comes to Europe: can Tesla disrupt one more time?

August 21, 2026

The Tesla Semi is coming to Europe. Almost a decade after Elon Musk first showed his electric truck with its bullet-shaped cab, Tesla has confirmed it will sell the zero-emission heavy hauler on this side of the Atlantic. What does it bring that Windrose doesn’t already offer? On paper, the Tesla Semi offers the most […]

Geely launches E2 in Benelux, arriving September 11th (update)

August 19, 2026

Geely has put a firm date on the Benelux launch of its compact E2 electric hatchback. The Chinese bestseller will arrive at official dealers in Belgium and the Netherlands on September 11 and 12, sharpening the European rollout announced earlier this month. The launch date was shared by Geely’s director of sales & network Benelux, […]

Hyundai Ioniq 3 dips below €30,000 to make Kia EV3 blush

August 18, 2026

Hyundai has opened Belgian order books for the Ioniq 3, pricing the compact electric hatchback at a competitive €29,995. It undercuts its Kia EV3 sibling by a wide margin. First deliveries are scheduled for October 2026. Hyundai’s Belgian importer, Astara Western Europe, has landed close enough to make the Ioniq 3 one of the most […]

UK considers halving 2030 EV target to 50%, but 2035 ban stays

August 17, 2026

The British government has launched a consultation round that could slash its 2030 electric vehicle sales target from 80 percent to as low as 50 percent. But the 2035 ban on new gasoline and diesel cars remains fixed. The British ZEV mandate has its own ladder to reach defined targets. The percentage of new car […]

Oil majors double profits as Europe debates taxing the windfall

August 17, 2026

Europe’s major oil companies have more than doubled their profits in the latest quarter of 2026, reigniting the debate over whether governments should tax part of those gains while simultaneously spending public money to shield motorists from high fuel prices. According to an analysis by the environmental lobby group Transport & Environment, eight major oil […]

DAF sources Einride for Level 4 autonomy into its electric line-up

August 14, 2026

Einride has been running autonomous freight for years, but always on its own hardware. That changes now. The Swedish operator is partnering with DAF to integrate its Einride Driver software into the Dutch manufacturer’s electric truck production. It’s the first time Einride’s autonomous technology is climbing into somebody else’s cab rather than building its own. […]

Chevrolet exits Chinese market, but production will stay

August 14, 2026

General Motors has confirmed that the Chevrolet brand will stop selling new cars in the Chinese market. Meanwhile, GM is clarifying that the brand will continue production within the country but will shift its strategic focus toward exporting vehicles to international markets outside of the United States. The move caps a brutal sales slide for the […]

ADV Automotive strengthens its Ford distribution, but also eyes other brands

August 13, 2026

With Garage Feyaerts joining ADV Automotive, the dealer group is reinforcing its position as the largest Ford dealer group in Belgium. It now has 14 dealerships across the country. Meanwhile, the group is also looking to enlarge its model portfolio with other (mostly Chinese) brands. Garage Feyaerts, a family-run business, has been active in car […]

BYD’s bargain Seal 06 gets serious as European sales surge

August 12, 2026

BYD’s latest Seal 06 is becoming much more relevant to Europe than the bargain-priced Chinese EV we wrote about last year. The 2027 model combines a larger battery, 800-volt architecture, much faster charging, and up to 630 km of Chinese range, while its domestic entry price has barely moved. When BYD launched the full-electric Seal […]

German car buyers finally switch to electric, also second-hand

August 12, 2026

Growing numbers of German drivers are switching to electric cars, with the used vehicle market now also seeing a surge in uptake, according to new data from the German insurer HUK Coburg published on Tuesday. Among all private customers who switched their HUK-insured car in the second quarter, nearly 12% or one in eight moved […]

Raleigh, Batavus and Sparta owner Accell declared bankrupt (update)

August 12, 2026

The Dutch companies of bicycle giant Accell Group, owner of brands including Batavus, Sparta, Koga, Babboe and Raleigh, have been declared bankrupt by the Amsterdam District Court. The decision comes less than a week after the group was granted a suspension of payments and marks a rapid escalation of its financial crisis. Court-appointed administrators Thijs […]

Zero pays new riders as Europe’s electric motorcycle battle heats up

August 10, 2026

Zero Motorcycles is offering newly licensed European riders up to €500 to choose electric, as the American manufacturer tries to expand its customer base, just as competition in electric motorcycles starts getting more serious. Under its 2026 Rider Training Incentive, anyone buying a Zero within three months of obtaining an A1, A2, or full A […]

Ford prices Fathom EV pickup at $28,350, eyes global potential

August 07, 2026

Ford has put a name and a price on the first model from its radically simplified new electric-car platform. The Ford Fathom, a compact-to-midsize electric pickup, will start at $28,350 in the United States, or $29,945 including destination charges, when deliveries begin in the fall of 2027. That makes the five-seat Fathom almost as cheap […]

Belgium captures 15% of Dutch border-region gasoline demand

August 06, 2026

An increasing number of Dutch people living in the border region with Belgium are filling up their tanks in Belgium, according to research by ABN AMRO. By now, approximately 15 percent of gasoline consumption in that region has shifted to Belgium. The Dutch are flocking to Belgium to fill up their tanks, now that the price […]

Renault’s EV boom lifts revenue, but finance rivals car profits

August 05, 2026

Renault Group has returned to profit in the first half of 2026, helped by rapidly rising electric car sales and a richer product mix. However, the figures also reveal how thin the margins on building cars remain. Mobilize Financial Services, the group’s captive finance arm, generated almost as much operating profit as Renault’s entire automotive […]

Belux registrations down 7.4% in July, BEVs have the highest market share

August 04, 2026

According to data from the sector federation Febiac and the federal public service Mobility and Transport, 29,274 new cars were registered in July, 7.4% fewer than in July 2025. After 7 months in 2026, 266,209 new cars were registered, and that’s a decline of 2.4% compared to last year. As the professional car market is […]

Leapmotor B03 could become Stellantis’ €20,000 Chinese price weapon

August 04, 2026

Leapmotor is preparing to launch the A05 in China on August 10, a compact electric hatchback that will be sold internationally as the B03. With dimensions close to the Geely E2, two LFP batteries, and a potential European price near €20,000, it could become one of the sharpest value propositions in Europe’s affordable EV market. […]

Hyundai opens Dutch order books for Ioniq 3 from €27,995

August 04, 2026

Four months after Hyundai unveiled the Ioniq 3 at Milan Design Week, the compact electric ‘Aero Hatch’ now has its first European price list. Dutch customers can order it from €27,995, with showroom arrival expected at the end of September. Belgium will follow, but Hyundai Belux says only that local prices will be announced “after […]

Ferrari Luce more popular than expected?

August 03, 2026

Several sources and media outlets have reported that the planned 2026 production of the Ferrari Luce (± 500 units) is already sold out two months after its May launch. According to the Financial Times, the €550,000 model reportedly attracted particularly strong interest in China and among technology entrepreneurs in places such as Silicon Valley. Ferrari’s […]

IAE: Europe’s EV market accelerates, Belgium starts to level off

July 31, 2026

Electric car sales recovered strongly in the second quarter of 2026, with Europe emerging as the fastest-growing major market. However, Belgium’s figures reveal a more nuanced picture. The country remains one of Europe’s leaders in battery-electric market share, but growth is slowing, and adoption remains heavily dependent on company cars. The latest figures come from […]

Porsche to cut another 5,000 jobs but sees light at the end of the tunnel

July 30, 2026

In the first half of the year, Porsche’s net profit rose 34% to €1.35 billion, despite selling fewer cars than before. Nevertheless, Porsche is responding to declining sales figures and margins with a ‘Future Package’. By 2035, a further 5,000 jobs will be cut at the Zuffenhausen and Weissach sites, along with compensation reductions for […]

Stellantis rebounds in Q2, but still trails European rivals on profit

July 30, 2026

Stellantis returned to profit in the first half of 2026 as higher volumes and an improvement in North America lifted revenue, but its margins and cash generation still lag behind most European rivals. Second-quarter revenue increased by 13% to €43.5 billion, while shipments rose by 10%. Stellantis posted a net profit of €293 million, compared […]

BMW’s European strength cannot offset China-driven profit collapse

July 30, 2026

BMW Group is stepping up cost reductions and organizational reforms after a sharp deterioration in profitability during the first half of 2026. The German premium carmaker insists that demand remains healthy in Europe and that its Neue Klasse electric offensive is gaining momentum. Still, weaker sales and pricing in China, tariffs, and rising depreciation are […]

European van market barely grows as electric sales surge

July 29, 2026

Europe’s commercial vehicle market returned to growth in the first half of 2026, but the recovery was uneven. According to ACEA, new van registrations in the EU rose by only 1.9% to 742,759 units, while truck registrations increased by 9.8% to 171,933 and buses and coaches by 22.7% to 22,590. The stronger figures in trucks […]

Zeekr launches 9X in Belgium, but China keeps the ‘wildest’ versions

July 29, 2026

Zeekr has confirmed the European and Belgian launch of the 9X, a 5.24-meter luxury SUV that marks a major change of direction for the Geely-owned brand. Until now, Zeekr has presented itself in Europe as an electric-only premium brand. Its new flagship is a plug-in hybrid combining a 55.1 kWh battery, two electric motors, and […]

BYD’s flagship sedan Da Han targets EQS and i7, but will Europe get it?

July 28, 2026

BYD has released the first official production images of the Da Han, a huge electric flagship saloon that moves the Chinese manufacturer into territory occupied in Europe by the Mercedes EQS, BMW i7, and Lucid Air. The model will make its public debut at the Chengdu Motor Show in August and sits above the existing […]

Lynk & Co targets Europe’s premium estates with 523-hp 07 GT

July 27, 2026

Lynk & Co has launched the 07 GT in China, a high-performance plug-in hybrid wagon with up to 523 hp and a claimed electric range of 200 km. More importantly for European buyers, the Geely-owned brand has confirmed that the model is planned for Europe in 2027. The 07 GT measures 4.85 meters in length, […]

Volvo EX50 name emerges as Ghent awaits crucial production decision

July 27, 2026

Volvo Cars has applied to register the EX50 name in Europe, fuelling speculation that the Swedish manufacturer is preparing a new electric SUV to replace the current EX40. Such a model would be particularly important for Belgium, as the EX40 is built at Volvo’s Ghent factory, while the company’s new plant in Košice, Slovakia, has […]

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