Renault revenue grows, with Belux still a global top-ten market

July 23, 2026

Renault Group entered the second half of 2026 with revenue still growing, even as worldwide vehicle sales came under pressure. Its latest financial update showed first-quarter revenue rising by 7.3% to €12.53 billion, while newly published figures reveal that global sales slipped by 0.4% in the first half. Against that mixed backdrop, Belgium and Luxembourg […]

EU car registrations up 5.7% in first half-year; EVs grow to a 20.7% market share

July 23, 2026

According to data from the European Car Manufacturers Association (ACEA), new EU car registrations rose 5.7% year-to-date, with a strong June performance (+13.6%) contributing to a positive first half of 2026. This came against a backdrop of persistent geopolitical headwinds weighing on the outlook. The market continued to benefit from robust consumer demand for a […]

Toyota Europe courts Uber drivers without going all-in on EVs

July 20, 2026

Toyota and Uber are expanding their long-standing partnership with a new European program intended to make electrified vehicles more accessible to ride-hailing drivers. The initiative will launch in ten countries in July before being rolled out more widely across Europe. Uber drivers and fleet operators will be offered preferential conditions on new Toyota and Lexus […]

Lamborghini kicks its ‘not mature’ EV further down the road

July 16, 2026

Lamborghini has again defended its decision to turn the electric Lanzador into a plug-in hybrid. This time, the argument is no longer only about weak demand or poor returns. Product director Stefano Cossalter says EV technology is not mature enough to deliver the emotion Lamborghini owners expect. Cossalter, responsible for the Urus and Lanzador, told […]

VW launches ID. Cross with 427 km range and €27,990 price

July 16, 2026

Volkswagen officially unveiled the production ID. Cross on 15 July, turning the compact electric SUV previewed earlier this year into a showroom model. The European market launch is scheduled for autumn 2026, while Belgian customers can already order the 52 kWh Life and Style versions. The entry-level Trend is expected to become orderable in early […]

Renault confirms ‘structural shift’ as EVs go mainstream

July 15, 2026

Renault is seeing what its UK boss Adam Wood calls a “structural shift” toward electric cars, as higher fuel prices combine with a new generation of more attractive and affordable models to move EVs beyond their early-adopter niche. And the trend appears to be more than a British blip, with Renault reporting stronger EV orders […]

VW Group boss aims at overhead cost, and the brands will have a different future

July 15, 2026

VW Group CEO Oliver Blume persists in its aim to cut costs dramatically inside the Group. Meanwhile, five of the most important brands inside the group’s portfolio face different levels of change and cost-cutting. The German company’s overhead is higher than competitors’ by roughly one-fifth, Blume said in an interview published on VW’s intranet. Reaching […]

Traxio: ‘New motorcycles on the rise, used ones down slightly’

July 14, 2026

The market for new motorcycles grew by 13.2% in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year – with 16,368 new vehicles, this is the highest growth level in fifteen years. Thanks in part to the Brussels Motor Show, 2026 got off to a strong start. According to the mobility federation Traxio, increases […]

BYD officially launches Denza Z, its first sports car for Europe, at Goodwood

July 13, 2026

BYD has officially unveiled the European version of the Denza Z at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. CEO of BYD, Stella Li, and former F1 champion Jenson Button took the wraps off the sports car that intends to go head-to-head with the Porsche 911. Or rather, the Maserati GranTurismo Folgore. Because the driveline is fully […]

VW Group sells more BEVs in Europe but loses ground in the rest of the world

July 13, 2026

The Volkswagen Group reports 438,500 all-electric vehicle deliveries for its brands in the first half of the year. This represents a 5.8% decrease compared to the same period last year. BEV sales have declined significantly, particularly in the US and China. However, in the important European market, Volkswagen recorded 8% growth. Alarm bells are ringing […]

Mixed sales picture for BMW Group in first year-half

July 13, 2026

The first half of the year presented a mixed picture for BMW Group: while markets in China and the Asia-Pacific region saw significant declines in the first six months (more than 20% in China), the BMW Group increased its sales in Europe and the U.S. In Europe, sales rose by around +5.4%. In the US, […]

Don’t charge to 100% and Ionity will reimburse you

July 10, 2026

As the charging sector shifts its focus from infrastructure rollout to rethinking payment schedules, the latest pricing innovation comes from Ionity. Europe’s largest ultra-fast charging network will literally pay drivers to disconnect before their battery is full. The reason? Free up charging space. The new scheme, called ‘Fast Lane Reward’, gives you 5 kWh of […]

Monroe manufacturer Tenneco is cutting 120 jobs in Sint-Truiden

July 09, 2026

Shock absorber manufacturer Tenneco, better known by the brand name Monroe, is set to lay off 120 employees at its Sint-Truiden plant – 101 manual workers and 19 white-collar staff. The dismissals would reportedly be phased from September 2026 until the end of 2027.  The announcement had been anticipated for some time, but the company confirmed its […]

Polestar brings back the rear window on its 4 SUV

July 08, 2026

Polestar has released more details about the upcoming new version of the 4. Rumored to be a shooting brake, the model will be called SUV and will go on sale on September 2. In any case, it brings back the rear window, which was replaced by a camera on the original 4.  A rear window […]

Leapmotor opens B03X orders in Belgium from €24,900

July 07, 2026

Leapmotor has opened the European order books for the B03X, the compact electric crossover it hopes will turn the Chinese brand from a niche newcomer into a serious contender in Europe’s volume EV market. At €24,900, the B03X will compete for the same buyers as Stellantis’ own Fiat Grande Panda Electric, Citroën ë-C3 Aircross, and […]

Traxio: ‘Used vehicle registrations dip slightly in first six months’

July 06, 2026

The number of used car registrations fell slightly in the first six months of the year compared with last year (-3.6%) and the year before (-2.8%). “What stands out in this regard is the yo-yo effect, month after month,” explains Filip Rylant, spokesperson for mobility federation Traxio. Geopolitical tensions, in particular, appear to be affecting […]

BNEF still sees record global EV sales despite US policy retreat

July 06, 2026

BloombergNEF expects global electric-car sales to set another record in 2026, even as the United States moves sharply in the opposite direction. Its new Electric Vehicle Outlook forecasts 23.3 million passenger EV sales worldwide this year, 11% more than in 2025, giving plug-in cars a 27% share of the global new-car market. The headline is […]

Fiat bets big on the city with new small car strategy

July 03, 2026

At a dedicated event in Rome, Fiat CEO Olivier François unveiled what the company calls its “micromobility vision.” The lineup consists of a threesome running on batteries: the existing Topolino, the earlier announced three-wheeler Tris, and the new Multiplina Concept. In these retro-crazy times, the Italian brand is reinterpreting the classic Fiat 600 Multipla.  Highest […]

Tesla posts its best sales result ever, but BYD still in the lead

July 03, 2026

As Tesla has registered its strongest second quarter on record, the negative spiral initiated by Musk seems to have been countered. The American EV maker is back on track, but BYD still outsold it by roughly 77,000 fully electric vehicles on a global level. According to figures published this week, Tesla delivered 480,126 units in […]

Belux car registrations up 9.4% in June; EVs continue growth

July 02, 2026

According to data from the federal public service (FOD) Mobility and the sector federation Febiac, 45,449 cars were registered in June, 9.4% more than in June last year. For the first half of the year, registrations are still slightly down (-1.7%) compared to H1 2025. During that first half of the year, individual buyers bought […]

Toyota’s hydrogen obsession just got a turbine spin

July 01, 2026

Toyota filed a patent last month for a hydrogen-powered gas turbine combustor. It’s a compact spinner designed to produce between 13 and 130 horsepower, but to what use? And is it feasible or just a quirky engineering idea? Back to the sixties As a strong – and increasingly isolated – believer in hydrogen for passenger […]

Chinese lifeline must help refresh Jeep’s lineup in Europe

June 30, 2026

Stellantis is betting on Chinese Dongfeng to get Jeep back on track in Europe. In addition to greenlighting the import of the American Recon, the lineup will be completed in 2028 with a Chinese-built plug-in hybrid SUV. But Brussels is already drafting tariffs on the exact type of vehicle this partnership produces. Jeep’s European portfolio […]

CEO Smart Europe: ‘We’ll definitely discuss European production of the #2’

June 30, 2026

Although Smart reinvented itself around the booming SUV segment, sales have yet to meet expectations. With the recently appointed Wolfgang Ufer at the helm as its new CEO, the brand is bringing a Mercedes veteran to the role just as its most iconic model, the #2, is ready for a rematch. “It’s the best two-seater […]

XPeng’s ‘Mona Lisa’ heads for Europe with a mass-market mission

June 30, 2026

XPeng will unveil its new Mona L03 in Beijing on 2 July, but China is only the first stop. Chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng has said the fastback SUV will travel to Europe shortly afterward for its global launch and the start of an official sales rollout. This makes the L03 far more than a […]

Shell presents a small EV that could be a big deal

June 29, 2026

In the wake of the new European E-car rules, a similar concept from an unexpected name has surfaced. Shell has unveiled a small urban EV called the Triple10 Challenge, which shows some interesting features for a car of its size. This is more than oil supermajor window dressing for green credentials. Shell still pumps roughly […]

Polestar banned from selling in the US, focus now on Europe

June 26, 2026

Polestar has been officially denied to sell cars in the United States as of 2027. After the brand withdrew from China due to low adoption, the luxury EV maker now also risks losing the world’s second-largest car market. The company will focus largely on Europe. But that is still the backyard of German premium. Polestar […]

Ford hasn’t admitted it yet, but new Mustang Mach-E is shelved

June 25, 2026

No, the Mach-E is not canceled today. Ford is still building it in Mexico and shipping it to dealers. But a second-generation Mach-E built on Ford’s new Universal EV architecture isn’t going to happen. A dead end seems ahead for the battery-powered vehicle that galloped the Blue Oval into the EV era, despite its unfortunate […]

Škoda Peaq: seven-seat electric flagship built to undercut Kia EV9

June 24, 2026

Nomen est omen. A peak is a summit. So, conveniently, the new Peaq sits at the top of Skoda’s electric range. Stuffed with seven seats and a 91 kWh battery at best, the Czech brand has built its largest vehicle in 130 years. The Kia EV9 and Hyundai Ioniq 9 are facing a strong contender, […]

Geely E2 heads for Belgium with Chinese sales star pedigree

June 24, 2026

Geely will introduce the E2 in Belgium after the summer, bringing one of China’s biggest recent EV successes to the crowded European small-car market. The compact five-door is intended to make Geely a player at the accessible end of the electric market, starting around €20,000, but final Belgian prices and several core technical details remain […]

UK-made EVs risk higher EU prices as new Brexit tariff deadline looms

June 23, 2026

European and British carmakers are again seeking a reprieve from a post-Brexit trade rule that could impose a 10% tariff on electric vehicles crossing the Channel from 1 January 2027. The risk does not arise simply because a car is assembled in Britain. To remain tariff-free under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, an electric […]

Mazda CX-6e: Chinese hardware, Japanese soul, European ambitions

June 23, 2026

At Silo’s Brussels, the former brewery complex beside the Willebroek Canal, Mazda Motor Belux last week gathered journalists, dealers, fleet managers, and other stakeholders for its Mazda Experience Days, putting the spotlight on the CX-6e that made its world debut at the Brussels Motor Show in January. The occasion was as much about strategy as […]

ACEA: EU car market grows 4% in May, EV shift is reshaping industry

June 23, 2026

New car registrations in the European Union rose 4.0% in the first five months of 2026, reaching 4.75 million units. The headline masks a much more profound market shift: battery-electric cars now account for 1 in 5 registrations, while gasoline and diesel are rapidly losing ground. According to the latest figures from ACEA, 950,521 battery-electric […]

Volvo offers to open its factories to Chinese sister brands

June 22, 2026

Volvo Cars CEO Hakan Samuelsson has made an explicit offer to his Chinese parent company. In an interview with Automobilwoche, Samuelsson said it would be “positive and possible” for Geely’s sibling brands to produce vehicles at Volvo’s European factories, including the Ghent, Belgium, plant. Samuelsson’s offer is a direct invitation for Geely Auto (the brand, […]

Europe on final straight-line for tariffs on PHEVs made in China

June 22, 2026

According to German newspaper Handelsblatt, the European Commission has finalized a proposal for punitive tariffs on plug-in hybrids made in China. These bread-and-butter models could face a similar fate to their counterparts with full-electric drivelines. However, the percentages would be lower. Europe set out to punish Chinese electric cars. Instead, it created a market for […]

Smart #2 lands in Europe to reclaim lost ground

June 22, 2026

At the Beijing Motor Show, Smart unveiled the concept that matters most to its renaissance under new German-Chinese ownership: the #2. Will the successor make an impact just as quirky, revolutionary, and safe as the legendary original, or has modern reality overruled the formula? We find out in Rome, where the concept version hit European […]

Volkswagen to cut 50.000 jobs? Blume says real problem is ‘relevance’

June 19, 2026

At the annual general meeting, VW CEO Oliver Blume didn’t shy away from blunt words. Though the group is on track shedding 50,000 workforce, he stated that the “business model is no longer working today.” Volkswagen is struggling hard with the modern-day reality of car building, to the point that the question no longer is […]

New iX5 will carry largest battery ever fitted in a BMW

June 19, 2026

In August, the first all-electric BMW X5 will roll off the production line at Spartanburg, South Carolina. The SUV is expected to weigh roughly three thousand kilograms, as it carries a battery larger than any BMW has ever fitted to a production car. That’s because it sits on a platform that was never designed to […]

MG takes Belgian distribution in house as Astara chapter closes July 1st

June 19, 2026

For all the attention around the MG 07, the more immediate Belgian story is happening behind the scenes. On 1 July, MG Motor Europe takes direct control of MG in Belgium and Luxembourg. A press release from the UK confirms the establishment of a Belgian subsidiary and the end of the distribution arrangement under which […]

Maserati bets on sharper nose and a partner to boost sales

June 19, 2026

Maserati has had a rough few years. Sales are down. The brand’s EV pivot has moved more slowly than planned, and the Grecale, its core volume model, has quietly fallen behind the competition on the one metric that matters most for electric cars: range. Revised Folgore versions of the Grecale and GranTurismo must help fix […]

Dacia teases new Spring as Europe’s cheapest EV prepares for a reset

June 19, 2026

Dacia has given the first official glimpse of the next Spring, confirming that its smallest electric car will keep the Spring name for a second generation. The teaser does not yet reveal prices, technical specifications, or timing for Belgium, but it does confirm two important points: the new model will remain a fully electric city […]

BYD Great Tang offers top tech on a reasonable budget

June 18, 2026

BYD has officially released the Great Tang in China. This is not the successor of the Tang, but a more luxurious model positioned higher in the hierarchy. Its size and technology give it the allure of a limo in an SUV, though its price tells a different story.  The BYD Great Tang doesn’t arrive empty-handed […]

Porsche updates Taycan with fake gears

June 18, 2026

The Porsche Taycan was the first EV to feature a two-speed gearboc. But now the German sports carmaker wants to reinvogarate the driving joy by adding fake gears, a feature that debuted on the Ioniq 5 N and which is also investigated by Toyota. The appeal for electric sports cars seems to reside in old-fashioned […]

Tesla Cybercab specs rule, but robotaxi reality doesn’t

June 17, 2026

The paper looks good, now that the American certification body has officially registered the Cybercab as the most efficient EV it has ever filed. But the streets are a completely different story for Tesla. With a shrinking fleet in place, Robotaxi rides are diminishing instead of growing  Tesla has filed its official EPA documents for […]

Global EV boom loses speed, but Europe and Belgium tell a different story

June 17, 2026

Global electric vehicle registrations reached around 1.8 million in May, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence data reported by Reuters. That was only 3% more than in May last year, bringing the first five months of 2026 to a modest 0.9% increase. On paper, that looks like a clear slowdown after years of double-digit growth. In […]

China rolls out a masterplan to electrify its trucks: 40% by 2030

June 16, 2026

China aims to achieve a 40% market share for electric heavy trucks by 2030. That’s almost half of the national fleet sales in less than five years from now. And if the country’s new energy cars and vans, or renewable energy policy, are anything to go by, the People’s Republic does not do half measures […]

¡Hola, VLE!: Mercedes starts electric van production in Spain

June 15, 2026

Three months after its world premiere, series production of the all-electric VLE officially kicked off at Mercedes’ plant in Vitoria, Spain. The occasion was deemed important enough to bring the company’s CEO out on site. Ola Källenius, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, attended the production launch ceremony alongside Thomas Klein, Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans. They […]

BMW’s electric M3 Concept shows its face at Le Mans

June 15, 2026

BMW chose the world’s most famous endurance race to drop the clearest preview yet of its first all-electric M car. You can call it a concept, but we all know that this is as close as it gets to the real thing. The BMW M Concept Neue Klasse celebrated its world premiere at the 24 […]

Dongfeng ‘solid-state’ battery is coming… with a catch

June 12, 2026

According to CarNewsChina, Dongfeng will start mass-producing its next-generation battery in the second half of this year and immediately start integrating it into vehicles. That would make it the first brand to offer solid-state at scale and could open opportunities for Peugeot, with whom the brand has strengthened its ties. But as with many battery […]

VW’s ‘other bus’ grows up: Multivan and California updated

June 12, 2026

Within VW Commercial Vehicles’ range, the ID. Buzz gets most of the spotlights. But the Multivan and its motorhome sibling, the California, just got a significant cosmetic and technological update. The electrified drivetrains remained the same, however. The youngest evolution of both models brings a redesigned front end, an entirely new cockpit, and an upgraded […]

After making millions of foreign cars, Mexico now launches its own EV brand

June 11, 2026

Emerging markets are tapping into the opportunity of building their own brands on the wings of electrification. After Turkey and its national marque Togg, Mexico is seizing the opportunity of launching its own car manufacturer. One of the world’s most important car-making nations finally goes it alone. Mexico is one of the world’s largest vehicle-producing […]

Renault 4 Plein Sud: the R4 puts its sunglasses back on

June 11, 2026

Renault has found a new trick for the electric age: making a sensible small SUV look as if it has just escaped to the Riviera. The Renault 4 E-Tech Electric Plein Sud is not a full convertible, and it is certainly not as bare-legged as the Renault 4 Plein Air of the sixties. But with […]

Citroën boss: “Electric 2CV will be deliberately not over-engineered”

June 09, 2026

Citroën’s CEO, Xavier Chardon, confirmed in an interview with German fleet publication Autoflotte that the new 2CV will make its debut at the Paris Motor Show this October. The concept, he says, will be “very close to the production model.” Sales follow in 2028, or exactly eighty years after the original premiered at the same […]

VW ID. Polo, Cupra Raval and Skoda Epiq roll off production lines (update)

June 09, 2026

The Volkswagen Group’s affordable EV offensive went into production. Last week, the first ID.Polo, Cupra Raval rolled off the line at the Seat plant in Martorell, near Barcelona. Skoda just confirmed production of the new Epiq has started at Volkswagen Navarra in Pamplona. These are the first two members of VW’s Electric Urban Car Family. […]

BYD and Nio caught in new US-China security clash

June 09, 2026

The Pentagon has put some of China’s best-known technology and mobility companies on its Section 1260H list of “Chinese military companies”, adding a new geopolitical layer to the global expansion of Chinese car brands. The updated list includes Alibaba, Baidu, BYD, Nio, and battery maker CALB, alongside firms active in lidar, robotics, solar energy, semiconductors, […]

Flanders puts €119 million on the table to keep Volvo in Ghent

June 08, 2026

To support Belgium’s last car factory, the Flemish government offers a subsidy package of up to €119 million to Volvo Cars. The offer was sent as an official letter to the headquarters in Gothenburg. Will this address the root of the problem, or does it just buy time? As Volvo gears up for its new […]

BMW lands Belgium’s biggest EV fleet deal: 1,000 cars for Katoen Natie

June 08, 2026

BMW Group Belux has signed what it calls “the largest electric corporate fleet deal ever concluded in Belgium with one car manufacturer”. Logistics group Katoen Natie will replace more than 1,000 combustion-engined company cars with electric BMW and Mini models by the end of 2027. The deal, announced at Katoen Natie’s headquarters in Antwerp, covers […]

Lotus Eletre X: the range extender that kills the electric-only plan

June 05, 2026

Lotus once promised to go fully electric by 2028. That plan is dead. To spearhead the new direction, the brand is releasing the Eletre X, a range-extender version of its SUV that was originally meant to be electric-only. “The EV penetration rate was not as good as we expected”, said Lotus CEO Feng Qingfeng to […]

Fiat Grizzly: bare necessities for big families

June 04, 2026

Fiat unveiled the first official images of the Grizzly and Grizzly Fastback. Two compact SUVs that represent one family with global ambitions. These are far from niche products. This is Fiat going mainstream to every corner of the world market. Two bodies, one platform In wildlife environments, the scenario is different, but in the case […]

Chinese TikTok car will not be about powertrain but cockpit 

June 03, 2026

Despite earlier denials of the rumors, TikTok’s parent company is preparing to launch a car in its home country, China. It will be a crossover targeting the youthful audience typically active on social media platforms. The car itself will be manufactured by Seres, the Chinese automaker that’s also behind Huawei’s Aito brand. Five months ago, […]

Rolls-Royce drops the 2030 EV promise but not the Spectre

June 02, 2026

Three months after quietly abandoning its pledge to go all-electric by 2030, Rolls-Royce is refreshing its only EV. The Spectre Series II has landed, and it is a proper update, not just a nose job. The recently appointed CEO of Rolls-Royce, Chris Brownridge, publicly stated that he had walked back the commitment his predecessor had […]

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