October 03, 2024
On Tuesday, the unions at Audi’s factory in Brussels, threatened by closure, were told at a works council meeting that only one candidate investor for the plant has come forward but didn’t put a viable plan on the table. At the same time, management made a first proposal for a social plan, which the unions […]
October 02, 2024
By the end of this year, PricewaterhouseCoopers Belgium and MINI Belux will deliver 200 brand-new full electric MINIs to their starting employees. With the delivery, the company will have a total of 300 electrified MINIs in its fleet. By replacing 200 BMW 1 series diesel cars with new electric MINI Cooper SE models, the company […]
October 02, 2024
Citroën risks losing millions from the social leasing plan launched in France last year to encourage the switch to electric cars. The brand, owned by Stellantis, had until September 30th to deliver the vehicles ordered under that leasing plan. But Citroën is facing delivery delays. According to French media, if the French state prevails, the […]
October 02, 2024
In the city center of Namur, you can now take an e-shuttle for free. The shuttles replace the TEC buses, which have been unable to travel in the pedestrian zone since the beginning of May. The four shuttles are primarily intended for people who have difficulty getting around but are also available to everyone free […]
October 01, 2024
The Walloon Road Safety Agency (AWSR) reports that about 72% of Walloon motorists do not know how to correctly apply the ‘safety corridor’ rule or the emergency lane, even though it has been in the Belgian highway code for four years. The organization is launching an information campaign to remind road users of this principle. […]
September 30, 2024
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has won her battle: the planned 50 km/h speed limit will be introduced on part of the Paris ring road tomorrow and will apply everywhere there from October 10. New French Transport Minister François Durovray “regrets the decision, which will affect millions of Île-de-France residents.” But Durovray, who threatened to scrap […]
September 30, 2024
The German-based Centre for Automotive Research (CAM) has released an analysis of EV registrations in Europe’s key markets for the first half of the year. CAM sees a significant opposing trend where the UK is nearing taking the lead from Germany as Europe’s biggest EV market. CAM spots an overall resilience for electric cars, especially […]
September 30, 2024
Since this weekend, Flanders has a new government and embarks now on a new course to appease mobility and the environment. The latter comes off second-best as LEZ zones are ‘frozen’ to their current restrictions, and the 2029 ban on new cars with combustion engines (ICE) is set back by six years to 2035. And […]
September 27, 2024
European aircraft maker Airbus is reorganizing its production to better respond to supply chain disruptions and its main competitors, the American Boeing and the ambitious Chinese Comac. It is doing so under the banner ‘LEAD!’. The new strategy includes structurally improving performance by simplifying the organization, cost savings, and not hiring new staff, but there […]
September 27, 2024
Belgium’s automotive market outperforms most European markets in reducing CO₂ emissions from new cars. According to Febiac and the European Environment Agency data, Newspaper De Tijd reports that the average emissions from new cars in Belgium decreased by over 40% between 2019 and 2023. This is significantly better than the EU average reduction of 27%, […]
September 27, 2024
The Dutch non-profit research organization TNO (Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek) survey shows that 48% of potential second-hand car buyers prefer an EV. The survey asked 1,512 respondents which type of car they would buy on the second-hand market in the five years to come. Almost half (48%) preferred an electric car, and 59% thought it feasible […]
September 27, 2024
Polestar’s collaboration with Swedish bicycle brand Allebike has resulted in a second joint e-mountain bike: the limited-edition Allebike Elize Polestar Engineered. This new bike, priced at €8,900, is designed for challenging off-road adventures, combining the design and performance elements that Polestar is known for. It’s designed to complement the carmaker’s SUV range. The new e-mountain […]
September 26, 2024
High-speed train operator Eurostar and the airline alliance SkyTeam will work together to offer integrated tickets. They have signed a memorandum of understanding to this end. The intention is to offer joint trips combining long- and medium-haul flights on the one hand and Eurostar train rides on the other, starting in the first half of […]
September 26, 2024
The tightening of the low-emission zone (LEZ) in Brussels will most likely be postponed from 2025 to 2027. The proposal of an ordinance to this effect by MR, PS, Les Engagés, and Open Vld was approved on Wednesday in the Environment Committee of the Brussels Parliament. The Brussels Parliament’s plenary session on October 4th must […]
September 25, 2024
Cambio CarSharing Flanders is celebrating its 20th anniversary. The car-sharing service started in 2004 in Ghent and is active in more than 100 Flemish cities and municipalities today. More cities and municipalities will be added in the coming years, starting with the Ghent boroughs. The car-sharing service also wants to improve its software and further […]
September 25, 2024
Starting December 16th, a high-speed train will run daily between Paris and Berlin. French railroad company SNCF Voyageurs and German operator Deutsche Bahn will operate the line. The journey will take about eight hours in total. A stopover in Brussels or Belgium is not planned because the train will enter France or Germany via Strasbourg. […]
September 25, 2024
The German Flixbus launches a direct bus connection between Brussels (Belgium) and Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital. The first trip from Kyiv to Brussels is planned for Wednesday. There will be two rides per week. The bus leaves Kyiv on Wednesday and Friday mornings. In the opposite direction, the departure from Brussels North is scheduled for Monday […]
September 24, 2024
The Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, wants to introduce a speed limit of 50 km/hour on the Paris Ring Road from October 1st. Whether it will come to that remains to be seen because brand-new Transport Minister François Durovray says he is unconvinced about the project. “I think this is not a decision that the […]
September 24, 2024
The Flemish mobility organization VAB will celebrate its 100th anniversary this year, at September 30. On the occasion of its centenary, the organization will also have a new slogan: “VAB, daar kom je verder mee” (VAB will take you further). Over the past century, the organization has grown into a company that offers driving lessons, […]
September 23, 2024
The new streetcar line 10 was officially opened in Neder-Over-Heembeek on Saturday, with Belgium’s King Philippe—a licensed jet and helicopter pilot—in the driver’s seat for this occasion. The latest Brussels tramline runs from the Military Hospital to the center of Brussels and on to Churchill in Uccle, passing key interchanges such as North Station, Rogier, […]
September 20, 2024
Eurostar, the operator of high-speed trains connecting Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Great Britain, threatens to stop running trains in the Netherlands by 2025. “Without access to necessary infrastructure, connections to London and Paris will be suspended,” said Eurostar chief Gwendoline Cazenave. In an opinion piece in the Dutch business newspaper ‘Het Financieele Dagblad’, […]
September 20, 2024
Last year, Febelauto, the management body for waste vehicles and industrial batteries, collected almost 150 tons of high-voltage batteries from electric and hybrid cars—or 10% more than in 2022. That number will continue to rise because the number of electrified vehicles brought to market will increase exponentially. All European vehicle manufacturers are legally obligated to […]
September 19, 2024
Some 36 action groups and citizens’ initiatives, united as the Modal Shift Coalition (MSC), want politicians to work harder on the modal shift for Flemish cities with higher quality of life. In other words, there should be more space for pedestrians and cyclists, fewer cars, and more public transport and shared mobility. The call comes […]
September 19, 2024
Newmobility.news reported before that Danish car subscription start-up :Dribe is ogling Belgium to export its fully digital platform to the rest of Europe. Now, the Danish say about one in five (18%) Belgians would consider a car subscription instead of ownership. The latter might have been spurred by the success of Swedish-Chinese Lynk & Co […]
September 19, 2024
Norway has reached the predicted watershed moment, with more electric cars than gasoline vehicles being driven daily. The breakthrough came earlier than expected but follows a month of a record market share of EV registrations. However, diesel vehicles still account for the largest share at approximately 35%. The tip-over was around the corner, as we […]
September 18, 2024
On Wednesday, the Environment Committee of the Brussels parliament is considering several proposals to postpone the planned tightening of the Low-Emission Zone (LEZ). The proposal that stands the best chance is that of MR, Les Engagés, PS, and Open Vld to postpone stricter LEZ standards by two years. According to the Brussels administration, a postponement […]
September 18, 2024
On Sunday, Mobility Week concludes in Brussels with Car-Free Sunday. From 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., the entire Brussels Region will be closed to unlicensed cars, making the Region once again the largest car-free zone in Europe for one day. The Brussels Region covers 162 square kilometers and comprises 19 municipalities, including the City of […]
September 18, 2024
The Belgian postal company Bpost recently ordered 168 new bike trailers, bringing the total to more than 600 vehicles. Postmen can use them to deliver parcels. The new e-bike trailers, which can accommodate up to fifty parcels and letters and a maximum weight of 150 kilograms, will be delivered in 2025. By 2030, all deliveries […]
September 17, 2024
German Aerospace Center DLR (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfarth) is keeping its ‘feet’ on the ground at IAA Transport in Hanover these days, showing the result of its research into autonomous last-mile delivery, the modular U-Shift concept. It’s basically a U-shaped platform or ‘drive board,’ and the capsules are designed for various purposes, such […]
September 16, 2024
Brussels Airlines’ fleet will be expanded with three new A330 long-haul aircraft, the first of which is expected in mid-2025. With four leased short-haul aircraft, Brussels Airlines will offer 14% more seats next summer while reserving 100 million euros for brand-new cabins. With 13 jets, the long-haul fleet has never been so large and is […]
September 16, 2024
As the Golden State pushes towards its ambitious carbon neutrality goal, California’s low-income residents can apply for a subsidy incentive to transition to a zero-emission vehicle. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has introduced the Driving Clean Assistance Program (DCAP), a supportive aid worth $242 million (€217,5 million) to leverage EV adoption. The program mimics […]
September 13, 2024
Belgian rail network manager Infrabel has launched a new VR movie to ask young people to be careful around railroads. After all, a recent survey showed that 48% of Belgians are willing to walk on the tracks even though safety rules are generally known. In 2023, this led to eleven deaths and nine serious injuries […]
September 13, 2024
BMW Group’s Battery Cel Competence Center (BCCC) in Munich and the University of Zagreb’s Regional Center of Excellence for Robotic Technology are jointly developing solutions to improve the production of battery cells using Artificial Intelligence. Doctoral candidates and students at the University of Zagreb are collecting and structuring existing production data to identify particular patterns […]
September 13, 2024
In the run-up to International Mobility Week (from 16 to 22 September), SD Worx analyzed regional differences in commuting. The main conclusion? Belgians are European commuting champions and the most geographically mobile employees in Europe. However, the mental limit has been reached. On average, Brussels residents live closest to work. Still, they spend an hour […]
September 13, 2024
According to a new study by research firm Transport&Mobility Leuven (TML), the Belgian bicycle economy is worth nearly a billion euros and has experienced growth of some 90% over the past eight years. Along with the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany, Belgium is one of the largest cycling countries in the world. Many car manufacturers see […]
September 11, 2024
Specter, the Belgian manufacturer of specially designed speed pedelecs, has raised two million euros in new capital to expand its activities in Belgium and abroad. In addition to the existing partners, Fundracer Capital—a new party with extensive experience in the micro-mobility and bicycle industry—will invest in the start-up. Maarten Baert, founder and CEO of Specter: […]
September 11, 2024
The 2023 European EAFO Consumer Monitor, an EU survey among 17,034 non-electric drivers and 2,046 actual BEV drivers in twelve countries, shows that despite the negative press EVs are getting in some countries, most EV drivers are generally satisfied and not willing to go back to fossil. Among non-EV drivers, 57% consider buying one in […]
September 10, 2024
At Schiphol Airport (in the Netherlands), travelers with reduced mobility will be brought to their gate by self-driving wheelchairs. A test experiment with the self-driving wheelchairs was launched in February 2023. Ten autonomous wheelchairs will be deployed starting this week and will be available for the general public to test. The vehicles have a luggage […]
September 10, 2024
From October 1st, only 50 km/hour may be driven on the Paris Ring Road. The news was already announced last year, but Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has officially confirmed the speed limit. Remarkably, for the measure intended to reduce pollution for more than half a million inhabitants, Hidalgo is not awaiting the advice of the […]
September 10, 2024
Bicycle sharing is extremely popular in Ghent. This year, 657,843 trips have been made with a shared bike, more than the previous year. July was the busiest month ever, with 113,386 rides. A shared bike is a flexible, affordable, and convenient way to get around. More and more shared bicycles are also being made available. […]
September 09, 2024
The oil price has dropped significantly again. A barrel of US WTI oil now costs 67.67 dollars, after the peak in April of around 87 dollars per barrel. A barrel of Brent North Sea oil now costs about 71 dollars a barrel, down from more than 90 dollars in April. The price drop, the lowest […]
September 09, 2024
NMBS/SNCB’s Board of Directors unanimously approved the train offer for 2025 on Friday. This offer is less ambitious than anticipated, partly due to a staff shortage. Overall, the train offer increases by almost 2% (in a million train kilometers) compared to 2024. In addition, 220 trains that had been scaled down in 2022 due to […]
September 06, 2024
Belgians are the most geographically mobile employees in Europe. They travel the longest distance to work, an average of 39 kilometers of all Europeans. Half of Belgians travel 25 km to and from work every day. HR service provider SD Worx discovered this after surveying employees in 18 European countries. Danish and Italian commuters cover […]
September 06, 2024
What so many commuters, young people, and weekend tourists were looking forward to is threatening to be a hefty blow to rail travelers and a PR thud for Belgian rail company NMBS/SNCB. After all, the public rail company wants to postpone the planned expansion of its offerings, which are scheduled for the end of this […]
September 05, 2024
It must be no coincidence: just when three French-speaking parties involved in the formation of the Brussels government decided on their own to present a proposal in parliament to postpone the tightening of the emission standard for the low-emission zone (LEZ) in Brussels from the beginning of 2025 to 2027, the non-profit organization Chercheurs d’Air […]
September 04, 2024
After an intense period with many used car registrations in July, August saw a slight dip with -4.0%. Still, the provisional annual total is heading toward half a million second-hand car registrations (490,296 units), almost 60,000 more than two years ago. Gradually, more electrified used cars are offered, as 12.7% of registered vehicles are chargeable. […]
September 03, 2024
Cyclis Bike Lease, the Belgian bicycle leasing company, has decided to partner with the German JobRad Group. The Hasselt-based company was founded in 2014. Ten years ago, the company was one of Belgium’s first bicycle leasing companies. Cyclis has been the market leader Belgium for years, with 37,000 bicycles under contract. Among them are all […]
September 03, 2024
While the rest of Europe reports discouraging figures, Norway continues to set new benchmarks in electric vehicle adoption. In August, more than 94 percent of all new passenger cars registered were electric, a new record for the world’s forerunner in the EV transition. “This looks very promising to reach 100% as of January,” reacted secretary […]
September 03, 2024
Contrary to popular belief, most cars on the road are not company cars. At least half of private sector employees use their own car to get to work. In SMEs, half of employers (54%) offer a company car. Belgian SMEs’ costs to provide company cars have also increased significantly, by an average of 30%, over […]
August 30, 2024
As great was the joy a few weeks ago at the inauguration of the new streetcar in Liège, so great is the disappointment today among the advocates of a sustainable mobility policy for the Liège metropolis. After all, the new Walloon government has abandoned the project to extend the Liège tramway to Herstal and Seraing. […]
August 30, 2024
Several environmental organizations are suing the European Commission for not imposing sufficiently strict CO2 standards on member states under the 2015 Paris Agreement on global warming. First and foremost, they are calling for fossil-fuel-powered planes and ships to be removed from the EU’s list of sustainable investments, which they say is an example of greenwashing. […]
August 30, 2024
From 2021 to 2024, Europe’s EV charging network experienced an impressive average annual growth rate of 55.4%. This highlights our continent’s strong momentum in expanding its electric vehicle infrastructure. However, despite this rapid growth, Europe still faces a significant challenge in meeting the European Union’s ambitious targets. Belgium, with a spot in the top five […]
August 29, 2024
The ministerial instruction of outgoing Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo) preventing the use of Boeing 777 aircraft at Brussels Airport at night has been suspended. The Minister said this in the Parliamentary Committee on Mobility. If consultations with the Flemish government come to nothing, it will be up to the next federal government to resolve […]
August 29, 2024
Driveco, a French operator of charging stations for electric vehicles, wants to install 1,500 charging stations in Belgium by 2030 and will allocate 15 million euros for this purpose. The company is already present in Belgium, with 70 charging stations in fifteen different stations, but the goal is to increase that number considerably in the […]
August 28, 2024
Brussels Airlines will soon introduce a new Belgian Icon, following the tribute to Tintin, the Smurfs, Tomorrowland, and the Red Devils, to name but a few. This time, the public may devise a design for a new painted airplane again. Beer, French fries, chocolate, and waffles are out of the question, but otherwise, almost anything […]
August 26, 2024
According to a recent Vias Road Safety Institute study, parents play a decisive role in how 5th- and 6th-grade students perceive traffic. Parents usually decide the means of transport – often the car – for practical reasons, fearing that their child or other road users will not comply with the traffic rules or that their […]
August 26, 2024
Belgian public railroad company NMBS/SNCB aims to increase the number of passengers by 30% by 2032 compared to 2022. Back then, 227 million passengers were transported, so the number of passengers should reach 300 million by 2032. According to the newspaper Le Soir, NMBS/SNCB has launched an investigation into the suburban S-nets of Brussels, Antwerp, […]
August 23, 2024
Brian Niccol, Starbucks’ new top executive, will be provided a jet by the American coffeehouse chain group to fly from his home in California to its headquarters in Seattle. That’s about 1,600 km. Niccol takes office on Monday, September 9th, but so is already under fire, while others accuse the firm of hypocrisy, with some […]
August 23, 2024
The Antwerp Waasland tunnel, the oldest vehicle tunnel under the river Scheldt that connects the city with the river’s left bank, will only be available for local traffic from September 23rd. The city of Antwerp decided this on the advice of the Roads and Traffic Agency (Agentschap Wegen en Verkeer, AWV). Soon, through traffic will […]
August 22, 2024
Brussels has 13,175 people on the waiting list to park their bikes in a secure bike park or box, 701 more than in February of this year, reports the Brussels news site BRUZZ. Parking.brussels has installed new bike boxes here and there over the past months, but the demand for bike parking continues to grow. […]
