Zeekr X shows off ‘luxury’ interior and confirms Smart #1 shared specs

April 17, 2023

The Zeekr X is the first model from Geely’s young premium brand to journey to the European market. To that end, the compact SUV finally gives a peek under the hood of its third model while its minimalist but luxurious interior is also shown. While Zeekr has confirmed it aims for a European launch later […]

Mazda designates new top executives Masahiro Moro and Jeffrey Guyton

March 20, 2023

The Mazda Motor Corporation announced last Friday that its Board of Directors has proposed that Masahiro Moro will become President and CEO. He succeeds Akira Marumoto, who has led the global Mazda business since 2018. Jeffrey Guyton will be the new CFO. Moro (62) joined the company in 1983. Before he took over his current […]

Atsushi Osaki will become next CEO of Subaru

March 06, 2023

The Japanese car manufacturer Subaru announced a change in its top management last Friday at a Board of Directors meeting. Tomomi Nakamura, the Representative Director, President, and CEO will leave his position to Atsushi Nakamura, current EVP and Chief General Manager of the manufacturing division. Nakamura entered the presidency of the company in 2018. As […]

Thierry Koskas is the new CEO of Citroën

February 24, 2023

Vincent Cobée, the current CEO of the Citroën brand, part of the Stellantis Group, will be replaced by Thierry Koskas as of March 1st. Cobée, recently cited in our articles, “has decided to pursue personal projects outside the company”, as it always sounds in official press releases. “In the light of the growing challenges related […]

Shoichiro Toyoda has passed away aged 97

February 15, 2023

Shoichiro Toyoda, the honorary chairman of Toyota Motor Corp. who transformed the Japanese automaker into a leading global brand, died of heart failure on Tuesday, the company announced. He was 97. Shoichiro was a third-generation scion of the founding family. He is credited with establishing a culture of quality control that helped Toyota evolve into […]

Brussels Airlines CEO leaves for rival Condor to avoid retirement

February 01, 2023

Peter Gerber steps down as CEO of Brussels Airlines with immediate effect and is also leaving parent company Lufthansa Group. The airline announced that former CEO Christina Foerster will take over in ad interim. Gerber will start as CEO of German airline Condor on 1 February 2024, the latter announced. That 58-year-old Gerber is leaving […]

Florian Kraft new French-German CEO for Stellantis Belux

February 01, 2023

The jostle in job positions at Stellantis Belux continues, as Florian Kraft (39), the Director of Sales & Operations at Peugeot Germany, is taking the wheel as CEO to replace Stephane Levi. Levi, who held the position since March 2021 after being CEO of PSA Belux, is ‘moving on’ within Stellantis to continue his career. […]

Volvo Cars appoints Jeremy Offer as new Head of Design

January 31, 2023

Volvo Cars has appointed Jeremy Offer as Global Head of Design. “Jeremy is bringing with him 35 years of design experience across multiple industries,” says the press release. Jeremy will report to chief executive Jim Rowan and be part of the Group Management Team. Jeremy Offer will assume the position of Global Head of Design […]

Didier Blokland new Director Communications at Stellantis Belux

January 31, 2023

Didier Blokland, until December 2022 Marketing Director for Peugeot at Stellantis Belux and active at Peugeot Belgium for 21 years, is the new Director of Communications, PR & Events of the Belgian importer of the French-Italian-US car brands. He succeeds Dominique Fontignies, who left the company a few months ago. Blokland took up his new […]

Akio Toyoda leaves Toyota CEO job to Koji Sato

January 27, 2023

Japanese car manufacturer Toyota has announced a change at the top of the group. Koji Sato, COO of the group and president of the Lexus brand and the motorsport subsidiary Gazoo Racing, will become Toyota’s new president and CEO on 1 April 2023, replacing Akio Toyoda in this role. Toyoda (66), the grandson of group […]

Zipse to hand torch to Luca de Meo as ACEA’s president

December 09, 2022

As of 1 January 2023, the current CEO of Renault, Luca de Meo, will take over the presidency of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) from BMW’s CEO, Oliver Zipse, who has held the position for the last two years. The Board of Directors announced that on Friday. Once renewable, the ACEA President is elected […]

Pieter Nota: ‘BMW customer to get same offer and prices everywhere’

December 09, 2022

From January 2024, BMW will roll out the much-debated direct sales ‘agency model’ starting for its MINI customers, followed by the BMW brand itself in 2026. Customers will buy their new car online and have a dealer of their choice deliver it, the latter getting a ‘fair’ share of the profit. No more bargaining at […]

Ghent electric car-sharer BattMobility sees business boom

September 27, 2022

The car-sharing and mobility organization BattMobility, located in Ghent and only offering electric cars, sees its business boom. The 4-year-old company reached 50 000 shared rides last September and noted a severe increase in car-sharers. BattMobility started as a local initiative in a Ghent neighborhood but has become the city’s market leader for electric car […]

New VW boss Oliver Blume already sets his marks

September 02, 2022

As of Thursday, September 1st, Oliver Blume acts as CEO of both Porsche and the Volkswagen Group. He succeeds Herbert Diess as announced and sets the course right from the start. German media has learned that Blume will reduce the Board of Management to take decisions more quickly. Specifically, this concerns Hildegard Wortmann (Sales) and […]

New CEO for Renault Belux is Martin Domise

September 01, 2022

As of today, the new CEO of Renault Brand Belux and Renault Belgium Luxembourg is Martin Domise. He is the successor to Jérôme Pannaud, who has been in charge of the region for four years. Martin Domise was born in Amiens (northwest of France) in 1989 and studied at the famous commercial school HEC in […]

Former Opel boss Michael Lohscheller CEO at Nikola

August 12, 2022

German automotive veteran Michael Lohscheller who joined American electric truck maker Nikola in February of this year, will succeed Mark Russell as CEO and President of Nikola Corporation when he retires on January 1st, 2023. Before joining the truckmaker, Lohscheller briefly was the CEO of Vietnamese VinFast but decided to return to Europe for personal […]

VW boss Diess ousted to be succeeded by Porsche CEO Oliver Blume (Update)

July 26, 2022

After the stock market’s closing, Volkswagen announced a complete surprise on Friday evening. CEO Herbert Diess is leaving the company at the end of August. On 1 September, Porsche boss Oliver Blume will take over and lead both companies in parallel. The market reacted negatively on Monday, questions arise everywhere if the new CEO will […]

VW America boss to take the wheel at Scout EVs

July 25, 2022

Scott Keogh, CEO of Volkswagen Group America, is stepping down to take the wheel at Scout, the brand VW is setting up in the United States for all-electric pickups and rugged SUVs. He will become Scout’s CEO on September 1st. The EV brand is named after the International Harvester Scout, an early precursor to the […]

Olivier Sermeus takes over as CEO Astara Western Europe

July 18, 2022

Olivier Sermeus, Chief Operation Officer (COO) at Astara Western Europe since September 2020, moves officially further up to take the wheel as Managing Director of the car distribution group that counts more than 700 selling points and some 375 dealers. As expected, Damien Heymans, the current company’s CEO and MD of Alcomotive, the last member […]

Dr. Alexander W. Wehr to be new CEO of BMW Group Belux

June 09, 2022

Dr. Alexander W. Wehr is moving to Belgium to become President and CEO of BMW Group Belux. He will succeed Eddy Haesendonck, who decided to leave the BMW Group. Stefan Reiff succeeds Wehr as Vice President of Customer, Brand, and Sales at BMW Motorrad. “Due to his extensive international sales expertise, Alexander Wehr is ideally […]

ACEA gets new Director-General and criticizes EU’s AFIR regulations

June 07, 2022

As of 1 September 2022, Sigrid de Vries will assume the position as the European car and truck manufacturers association’s new Director-General, following a decision by the ACEA Board of Directors. She will manage the association that unites Europe’s 16 major car, truck, van, and bus makers at the EU level. Concerning the Alternative Fuels […]

French Minister of Transport joins hydrogen carmaker Hopium

May 17, 2022

French start-up of hydrogen cars Hopium wants to appoint Minister of Transport Jean-Baptiste Djebbari to its board of directors. Djebbari is still serving at the Elysée but has announced that he intends to retire from political life with the formation of a new government at hand. The specific tasks for Djebbari have not been made […]

Brussels museum Autoworld has a new president

May 13, 2022

Wednesday, a new president for the board was elected at the Autoworld museum in Brussels. Ex-Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, now still a member of the European Parliament, has accepted to succeed to another well-known Open-Vld politician, Herman De Croo, who has been heading the museum for 36 years. The entire Autoworld team is very grateful […]

After Japan, France issues arrest warrant against Carlos Ghosn

April 26, 2022

Already wanted in Japan (where he fled jurisdiction in December 2019) and searched for by Interpol, former Alliance President Carlos Ghosn is now also persecuted in France. French justice wants to investigate alleged misuse of public goods, money laundering, and corruption. The now 68-year-old car tycoon fell from grace in 2018 when he was at […]

Musk invites his ‘worst critics’ to stay on Twitter after buying it

April 26, 2022

The board of directors at Twitter has accepted Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s buy-out deal of 44 billion dollars to obtain complete control of the company. As a result, Musk is now set to own his most cherished communication channel. “I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter because that is what free speech […]

Musk criticizes Twitter but becomes its biggest shareholder (update)

April 06, 2022

Almost a fortnight ago, Elon Musk posted critical tweets on Twitter about the social media platform. Still, it didn’t stop the Tesla boss from becoming Twitter’s biggest shareholder buying a 9,2% stake. After the announcement, the messaging service’s shares rose 26% in premarket trading. A day later, Twitter announced it welcomed Musk to its Advisory […]

Lohscheller leaves Vietnamese VinFast for Nikola

February 23, 2022

Former Opel CEO Michael Lohscheller is changing seats again. A few months after being appointed CEO of Vietnamese VinFast, he joins American electric truck builder Nikola Motors as President. After four months in Vietnam, he stepped down in December to return to Europe for personal reasons. According to the Nikola press release, he will be […]

Two biggest Flemish car magazines are merging

February 09, 2022

The specialized car magazines AutoGids and AutoWereld are becoming the only magazine. It will appear 22 times per year and be closely related to the French ‘pendant’ Le Moniteur Automobile. The first issue will be in the press shop from Wednesday, 9 February. The printed press is living difficult times. Publicity income through the magazines […]

Volvo’s new CEO Jim Rowan comes with backpack full of experiences

January 05, 2022

After ten years at the top of Volvo Cars, Håkan Samuelsson passes his CEO chair in March to Jim Rowan, currently CEO at Ember Technologies, and former CEO of Dyson and COO at BlackBerry. Volvo’s board announced the latter on Tuesday. They see in Rowan a man bringing in a backpack full of experiences for […]

Elon Musk ‘Person of the Year’ for Time Magazine

December 14, 2021

Time Magazine has declared the American billionaire Elon Musk ‘Person of the Year’. According to the magazine, Musk is a clown, a visionary, and a genius, but above all the man who wants to save the planet and find a new one to live on. He’s one of the few individuals who considerably influenced life […]

Ford kicks off E-Transit real-world customer trials

August 25, 2021

Ford gives ten E-Transit prototypes to partners in the UK, Germany, and Norway to start real-world customer trials. Over six to twelve months, different versions of the new electric van will be tested in intensive real-world conditions. Following development at Ford’s proving grounds and engineering facilities, the carmaker is keen to get feedback on usage […]

Former TME boss Johan van Zyl slain by Covid-19

August 02, 2021

Johan van Zyl, former boss of Toyota Motor Europe (TME), has died at the age of 63 in its home country of South Africa, slain by the complications of the Covid-19 infection he caught in July. The news was made public by Toyota on Sunday. “It is with great sadness that we inform you of […]

Opel CEO Lohscheller goes to VinFast

July 28, 2021

The leaving Opel CEO Michael Lohscheller is to become CEO of the Vietnamese car manufacturer VinFast LLC. After his departure from Stellantis, set at the end of August, the Opel CEO will be charged with expanding VinFast’s operations and its presence around the globe, as the company announced. Lohscheller’s departure from Opel/Stellantis has been known […]

Elon Musk’s veteran lieutenant Jerome Guillen has left Tesla

June 09, 2021

“As of June 3, 2021, Jerome Guillen, President, Tesla Heavy Trucking, of Tesla, Inc. (“Tesla”), departed Tesla. We thank him for his many contributions and wish him well in his future career.” Nope, that’s not a tweet by Elon Musk. Instead, via a filing for the American Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), Tesla announced officially […]

Ghosn has to refund € 5 million to the Alliance

May 21, 2021

Former Renault and Alliance boss Carlos Ghosn has to refund  € 5 million to the Alliance (Renault/Nissan/Mitsubishi) he was leading until the end of 2018. As the Alliance has its registered office in Amsterdam, the ruling comes from a Dutch court. Carlos Ghosn had sued the Alliance before the Dutch court because he found himself […]

Michel Vaillant’s cartoonist Jean Graton dies aged 97

January 22, 2021

The Father of the Michel Vaillant cartoon, Jean Graton, has passed away in Brussels this Thursday, aged 97. Graton, who was born in France in 1923, settled in Belgium in the late forties, where he published the first adventures of his racing driver character, Michel Vaillant, in Tintin’s journal in 1957. He leaves a legacy […]

Alain Visser, CEO of Lynk & Co (1): ‘We go for another business model’

January 12, 2021

The Belgian Alain Visser is Lynk & Co’s CEO, the Chinese Geely daughter who intends to change things on the car market. Many new and sometimes controversial ideas come from or are stimulated by the CEO — no better reason for having a chat with him. We’ve known Alain Visser for a long time. Already […]

Stellantis is a fact, who are the men behind it?

January 05, 2021

On Monday, the shareholders of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA)  and Peugeot S.A. (PSA) approved the merger of FCA and Groupe PSA to create Stellantis N.V. by an overwhelming majority (with more than 99% of the votes cast in favor of the transaction). Following today’s approval by shareholders and receipt of the final regulatory clearances over […]

BMW CEO Oliver Zipse to lead ACEA next year

December 11, 2020

Oliver Zipse, the CEO of the German car manufacturer BMW Group, will lead the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) in 2021. Mr. Zipse was appointed President of the association during a meeting of its Board of Directors, composed of the CEOs of Europe’s car, van, truck, and bus manufacturers. As of January, he will take […]

Roland D’Ieteren (78) has passed away

December 11, 2020

Roland D’Ieteren, the enigmatic car lover and former CEO and President of the family company D’Ieteren, has died on Thursday from the coronavirus’s effects. For 30 years, he was the CEO of his family business, founded by Jean-Joseph D’Ieteren in Brussels in 1805. Roland D’Ieteren was the sixth generation in the company and stayed on […]

Hyundai is rehiring design guru Luc Donckerwolke

November 04, 2020

In March of this year, Belgian car designer Luc Donckerwolke seemed to be leaving Hyundai through the back door. Today, he’s coming back as Chief Creative Officer (CCO), a new prominent position apparently created for him. Donckerwolke resumes his career as Executive Vice president, but his office will now be located at the Hyundai Motor […]

Elfi Janssens is new MD of Volvo Car Belux

November 02, 2020

From the 1st of December, Volvo Belux will have a new Managing Director. Elfi Janssens will succeed Wim Maes, who left his Belgian position to become MD of Volvo Russia. We messaged about his departure in mid-September. Elfi Janssens (54) studied applied economics at the University of Antwerp. She started her professional career in 1990 […]

Brussels Airport intercontinental hub for corona vaccines?

September 17, 2020

Brussels Airport expects the first large loads of corona vaccines to arrive as soon as mid-October. The Belgian airport has major trump cards to become an important hub for the intercontinental transport of corona vaccines, they believe. Last week, the international aviation organization, IATA, tried to draw a picture of the challenge. No less than […]

Volvo Car Belux MD Wim Maes moves to Russia

September 16, 2020

Wim Maes, the current managing director of  Volvo car Belux, will be assuming the same function as MD at Volvo Cars Russia as of the 1st of November. Wim Maes became the Belux MD in April 2013. “I’m sure that Volvo is now well-positioned to cope with the challenges of the future,” he declared. “I’m […]

Elon Musk meets Herbert Diess in an ID.3

September 08, 2020

There seems to be a bromance growing between Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, and Volkswagen Group CEO, Herbert Diess. During his last visit to Germany, Elon Musk’s private plane left Berlin for a small detour to the airport of Braunschweig. There, VW CEO Herbert Diess was waiting for him with a prototype of the electric ID.4 […]

Nissan COO: ‘The relation with Renault has never been this strong’

September 08, 2020

Ashwani Gupta, a lively Indian in his early fifties, has the most difficult task at Nissan: making the failing Japanese number two profitable again. At Nissan, he’s COO, member of the board, director of operations, and performance. In short, he’s the duty fire officer. Gupta and the newly appointed Luca de Meo at Renault have […]

Former Mitsubishi President Masuko deceased

September 01, 2020

Osamu Masuko, the man who has led Mitsubishi Motors for the last 15 years, has died last week (on Thursday) at the age of 71. In a press release, the company said Masuko died of heart failure. On the 7th of last month, he had stepped down as Chairman for health reasons and became Special […]

Nikola founder gives six million shares to first few employees

August 28, 2020

Trevor Milton, 38-year old founder and chairman of electric truck maker Nikola, has given away six million of his specific shares in the company to the first few employees who joined him. At the current rate, the shares represent a value of $233 million (€197 million) distributed over some 50 people. In a press release […]

Belgian Deldo: EU’s second largest tire wholesaler

August 24, 2020

The family-owned Antwerp wholesaler Deldo is a top name in the world of car tires. It’s the second-largest tire dealer in Europe but few consumers know the name.”We rather not show off and prefer to operate in the shadow,” the family tells newspaper De Tijd. The company buys large batches of premium tires directly from […]

‘Car guy’ Jim Farley new boss at Ford

August 05, 2020

Jim Hackett, Ford’s CEO since 2017, is leaving the company and will be succeeded by James D. Farley, at the moment COO of the Dearborn-based car manufacturer. Farley is a real ‘car guy’ who began his career at Ford in 2007, coming from Toyota. The one Jim has to take over from the other in […]

Benoît Gilson new CEO at Infrabel

August 03, 2020

The Belgian Federal government has appointed Benoît Gilson (46) as Infrabel’s new CEO. He follows in the footsteps of Luc Lallemand, who left for the French railway infrastructure operator at the beginning of this year. Ann Billiau has since led the company that manages the Belgian railway network. Benoît Gilson, a former journalist, has been […]

Renault steels chief designer Vidal from PSA

July 30, 2020

Luca de Meo is officially the new CEO of Renault since the 1st of July. He has started his new job with a bang. After taking the chief designer of Seat, Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos, with him (announced last Monday), he has now lured PSA star designer Gilles Vidal into stepping over to Renault. Gilles Vidal Gilles […]

Thierry Bolloré new CEO at Jaguar Land Rover

July 29, 2020

Thierry Bolloré, the former CEO of Renault, has been appointed as the new CEO of the Tata-owned car manufacturer  Jaguar Land Rover. The Indian group Tata Motors has communicated that Mr. Bolloré will take over from Ralph Speth on the 10th of September. Speth has led the company for more than ten years but had […]

Fisker goes to Wall Street

July 14, 2020

The American company Fisker, which is working on the development of the Ocean, an electric urban 4×4 (SUV), announced on Monday that it would go public via a merger with a subsidiary of the investment company Apollo, valuing it at 2,9 billion dollars. Business plan The announcement of the company’s arrival on Wall Street comes […]

Musk puts short-sellers in sexy Tesla ‘short shorts’

July 07, 2020

Elon Musk celebrates his victory against critical short-sellers in a typical way. Anyone visiting Tesla’s webshop will find a striking addition: bright red shorts. The shorts are provided with the car manufacturer’s logo at the front and the inscription ‘sexy’ at the back. And they are an instant hit. Fans pay $69,420 (€75 in Europe) […]

Citroën Ami to be sold in Fnac Darty shops

July 03, 2020

Citroën’s new, small, two-seater EV is now available for sale in 39 shops of the French electronics and book retailer Fnac Darty. Starting from 6 000 euros or 20 euros per month, the Citroën Ami is a microcar aimed at a young clientele for urban trips. At Citroën, they describe their Ami as ‘disruptive urban […]

Luca de Meo behind the wheel: new hope for Renault

July 01, 2020

On Wednesday, Luca de Meo, former head of Seat, is taking control of Renault as the new CEO. The Italian-born 53-year-old gets the difficult task of putting back on its feet a company traumatized by the fall of Ghosn, shaken by its first net losses for ten years and in the midst of a 2 […]

Lufthansa worried that its rescue plan could fail

June 18, 2020

The nine billion euros rescue package that Lufthansa has negotiated with the German state council could fail for lack of sufficient support from its shareholders. The German billionaire, Heinz Hermann Thiele, who recently increased his stake in Lufthansa to 15%, opposes the plans. The decision will be taken at an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting on 25 […]

Lotus: one last ICE sports car before full EV transition

June 17, 2020

The next Lotus sports car to be launched in 2021 will be powered by an internal combustion engine (ICE). But after that last gasoline hurrah, all of the brand’s future products will be EVs, starting with the Evija hypercar. Lotus says it wants to take advantage of the flexibility of the EV architecture. In an […]

Stéphane Sertang (Ginion Group): ‘the private car will be for passionates’

June 15, 2020

How is the car business waking up after the corona confinement? Belgian newspaper L’Echo asked Stéphane Sertang, CEO of the car dealer group Ginion, how he sees things. Ginion Group covers a certain amount of (usually premium or high-end luxury) brands. There is Mini, BMW, and Volvo, but also Ferrari, Rolls-Royce, Ferrari, McLaren, Pininfarina, or […]