February 12, 2024
Regarding the roll-out of electric vehicles, JLR is stepping on the brakes or is at least recuperating energy. The carmaker also announced launching more plug-in hybrids, saying the demand for pure EVs has cooled down. The announcement is quite surprising as it comes when the company is seeing strong interest in the first electric Range […]
February 12, 2024
The Norwegian Public Roads Administration has used an electric heavy truck from Swiss boutique manufacturer Designwerk to clear snow for the first time. Thanks to the 1,000 kWh battery capacity, the truck was able to complete a full day’s plowing work with ease. Designwerk is a small, Swiss-based manufacturer of custom electric trucks. It’s partially […]
February 09, 2024
Hyundai’s IMA platform, detailed last year as a successor to its current E-GMP architecture, will spawn two electric pickup trucks aimed at the US market. A trademark application for the names of these two new vehicles also gives insight into their size and place in the model range. The IMA platform, first announced in 2022 […]
February 09, 2024
The Belgian producer of digital display solutions, Q-lite, will install up to 500 digital bus stop displays for De Lijn throughout Flanders. That is what both companies announced on Thursday. These new digital information screens will replace the old stop devices that have reached the end of their lifespan. Q-lite will produce and install the […]
February 09, 2024
As the German magazine Automobilwoche reports, Audi will focus more on software in future vehicle development. Döllner wants to set up a ‘Software Defined Vehicle’ hub to focus on new vehicle concepts across the Group’s brands. Volkswagen and the much-criticized VW software subsidiary Cariad will also participate in the hub. That means other Group brands […]
February 08, 2024
Ford is updating its popular crossover. The new Puma gets different design touches here and there, but its onboard technology receives a significant upgrade. Not only does the Puma get new screens, but it also gains 5G connectivity and many active safety enhancements. Between the lines of this news, Ford announced that an all-new electric […]
February 07, 2024
After announcing the Touring version at the new 5 Series sedan presentation and sending teaser images, BMW has officially revealed its estate version. Meanwhile, spy pictures had already leaked from a studio shoot. Now, BMW comes with the full story of the car. A flexible drive architecture allows model variants with gasoline and diesel engines, […]
February 07, 2024
Porsche has given its electric flagship, the Taycan, an ‘extensive update’ with more power, more range, faster acceleration, and faster charging with greater stability. It will arrive at dealerships in Spring 2024. Although the next generation looks pretty much like the first one, Porsche says it sharpened the design and more strongly differentiated the Turbo […]
February 07, 2024
On Wednesday, Nissan introduced its next generation of the Interstar, its largest van for the first time available with a 100% electric powertrain, “without compromising performance”, as the manufacturer claims. An 87 kWh battery should provide a range of 460 kilometers, and it can charge 252 km in just 30 minutes on a DC charger. […]
February 07, 2024
On Monday, Stellantis Chairman John Elkann dismissed speculation that the Italian-US-French group plans to merge with Renault. “‘No plans are being examined for Stellantis mergers with other manufacturers,’ Elkann said when asked about the rumors. On Tuesday, he also tried to appease the Italian government about Stellantis’ commitment to Italy. Renault, for its part, said […]
February 07, 2024
This week the first fully electric Volvo EM90 minivans are rolling of the production lines at Geely’s Hangzhou Bay plant in China. Volvo launched its EM90 in November last year, a close brother to the Zeekr 009. It gets a 200-kW electric motor on the rear axle powered by a 116-kWh battery for 738 km […]
February 06, 2024
They only caught a glimpse of minor details of JLR’s first all-electric Range Rover in December 2023, but already 16,000 people have joined the waiting list the company opened simultaneously. It only gives an indication of people interested without any commitment yet, but JLR boss Adrian Mardell told British media he was “excited about the […]
February 05, 2024
The German electric vehicle developer ElectricBrands has filed for insolvency under self-administration and aims to “completely reorganize the company”. The company, based in Eppertshausen, says it is about to launch its lightweight electric vehicles on the market. ElectricBrands states that it has filed an application for insolvency under self-administration with the Darmstadt Local Court and […]
February 05, 2024
In China, the world’s currently biggest EV maker, BYD (Build Your Dreams), has started to deliver the first batches of its new Yuan Up, an affordable compact electric crossover, to dealerships, preparing for the official sales launch in March 2024. It’s expected to retail there for 100,000 to 130,000 yuan or some 12,900 to 16,800 […]
February 02, 2024
Volvo Trucks has introduced its first electric truck not directly based on a combustion model: the FM Low Entry. Designed for city use, it features a lowered cab moved forward for better visibility and easier ingress and egress. Production starts in the second quarter of 2024. The Volvo FM Low Entry is related to the […]
February 02, 2024
French car and van maker Renault unveiled the fourth-generation Master in November with impressive performance and range figures. Today, those figures are official and homologated. The new electric Master E-Tech has a range of up to 460 km (WLTP). The new Renault Master E-Tech manages this feat, all things considered, with an 87-kWh battery. Despite […]
February 02, 2024
The car market in Belgium and Luxembourg starts the same way it ended last year: in January 2024, 46,667 new cars were registered, which is 17.1% more than in the same month last year. These are deliveries of cars ordered last year, so it’s too early to see an influence of the ‘salon conditions’ almost […]
February 01, 2024
Stellantis has started production on its mid-size and large hydrogen fuel cell vans in its Hordain (France) and Gliwice (Poland) plants. They feature a zero-emission range of up to 500 km, with a 4-5-minute refueling time. The manufacturer now has combustion, battery-electric, and hydrogen variants of its commercial vehicles. In total, eight hydrogen fuel cell […]
February 01, 2024
Ford has unveiled the commercial vehicle version of its VW Caddy-based Connect van: the Transit Connect. However, it beats its donor by launching a plug-in hybrid variant first, which boasts up to 110 km of electric range with minimal compromises. The Ford Transit Connect slots in between the small Transit Courier and the larger one-ton […]
January 31, 2024
The delivery of Europe’s cheapest China-built Volvo, the EX30, is getting behind schedule due to a necessary update of the car’s software based on Google’s Android Automotive operating system. A few glitches must be solved before software version 1.2 can be installed, as it “does not yet meet all the requirements necessary to be released”. […]
January 31, 2024
Launched in its home market with a gasoline engine, the Hyundai Casper should arrive in Europe in late 2024. However, for us, it’ll be electric only. Rumors talk of an affordable, small crossover with a 35-kWh battery and a range of about 200 km. Playing in the same ballpark as the recently unveiled Citroen ë-C3 […]
January 31, 2024
South Korean media report that Kia is delaying the launch of its future electric sedan, the EV4. Originally planned to be on the road before the end of 2024, the production version of the Kia EV4 Concept should be launched by early 2025. Kia didn’t mention any specific reason. The future Kia EV3, presented in […]
January 31, 2024
The fully electric BMW i5 sedan and BMW iX2 SUV Coupé will each be available with an additional drive system variant from March 2024. The drive system offerings for the BMW X2 and BMW XM have also been expanded. New features in the area of digital services will also be introduced in spring 2024. These […]
January 31, 2024
Various sources reveal that Isuzu Motors will invest nearly two billion dollars into electric trucks and batteries. News reached us over an order with LG worth one trillion won. There is also talk of a new EV pickup truck from Thailand. The Korean battery specialist LG Energy Solution will supply Isuzu Motors with cylindrical cells […]
January 30, 2024
Toyota Motor Corp. said today its group sold more cars than any other automaker in 2023, maintaining its lead for the fourth consecutive year as it ramped up production amid an easing chip shortage. The automaker sold a record 11.23 million vehicles globally last year, including those produced by the group’s mini-vehicle maker, Daihatsu Motor […]
January 30, 2024
Renault Group has announced that it has canceled the initial public offering (IPO) of its electric division, Ampere. This is a major strategic turnaround for the group and a sign of the EV sector’s difficulties in attracting investors. Renault justifies the decision in its statement by pointing out that “the current market conditions are not […]
January 29, 2024
Organizing photoshoots for imminent car launches without giving away the looks becomes more complex every day. After the recent leak of the new Lancia Ypsilon pics, the website car scoops got pictures of the announced BMW 5 Series Touring, scheduled to follow its sedan brother this year into the market. The Touring version of the […]
January 29, 2024
London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC), a subsidiary of the Chinese Geely Group, has started prototype production of its second model, the L380. This sizeable electric minivan has a brand-new architecture designed for optimal space usage and a large battery capacity. The model will go on sale in China in 2024, with other markets following later. […]
January 29, 2024
Over a year after its European launch, BYD’s Tang EV is set for an upgrade, including a larger battery and improved features. The Chinese carmaker wants to increase its appeal to compete with the Tesla Model Y, the best-selling car worldwide, last year. An essential upgrade component is the Tang’s battery capacity, which will increase […]
January 26, 2024
Porsche has (finally) unveiled its first electric SUV. After a couple of years of delay, the carmaker has high hopes for its second electric model after the Taycan. After all, the Macan is not only Porsche’s best-selling model, but with the new Premium Platform Electric, it is also a trailblazer for the upcoming electric models. […]
January 25, 2024
After announcing its eTGX and eTGS long-haul electric trucks in November 2023, MAN has announced that the first model year has nearly sold out, with 700 orders placed in the first three months of sales. MAN claims a “daily range” of up to 800 km for its battery-electric models. The first examples of MAN’s long-haul […]
January 25, 2024
Cadillac has started to build the exclusive Celestiq EV at the General Motors Global Technical Center in Warren, Michigan. But they’re doing it ‘by driblets’, as they are hand-built, and only 100 to 150 of them will be made to keep them exclusive. As will be the price tag: $340 000 (€311 950) before customization. […]
January 25, 2024
It has been over two years since we heard anything about Apple’s decade-long ‘Titan Project’ to launch its own fully autonomous electric car that wouldn’t even feature a steering wheel anymore. But that won’t happen, insiders told the Bloomberg news agency, as the new shift is to a somewhat ‘common’ EV with the driver still […]
January 25, 2024
Through the inadvertence of people working for the car manufacturer’s official web channels, ‘official’ pictures of the production version of the Wagoneer S EV already leaked long before Jeep was ready to show them to us. Jeep had already teased its first-ever EV for the American market last week, but the short video only really […]
January 24, 2024
The iconic Golf is celebrating its 50th birthday this year, and Volkswagen is launching an enhanced version of its bestseller to mark the anniversary. To date, more than 37 million Golfs have been sold across eight generations. The updated Golf has a next-generation infotainment system, a more intuitive operating concept, a sharper front and rear […]
January 24, 2024
Toyota Chairman and former CEO Akio Toyoda believes battery-electric vehicles will have a maximum market share of 30%, with the rest taken up by hybrids, hydrogen fuel cells, and ICE cars. “With a billion people in the world living without electricity, limiting their choices and ability to travel by making expensive cars isn’t the answer,” […]
January 24, 2024
While the Manta is sent to the history books, German carmaker Opel has announced the comeback in 2024 of the Frontera nameplate – Opel’s 4×4 sold between 1991 and 2004 – for an entirely new SUV that will also feature a fully electric version right from the start. Details are scarce, but Opel CEO Florian […]
January 23, 2024
Stellantis has fully unveiled its STLA Large platform. Designed for large electric vehicles, it forms the basis for future cars in the D and E segments for the global markets. However, it is not a purely electric platform, which has a reason. This will be a pivotal year for the strictness of emissions regulations with […]
January 23, 2024
With the ‘Neue Klasse’ or ‘New Class,’ BMW will launch a new vehicle architecture for the electric future in 2025. The Munich-based company has a tight model schedule: six model series are to use the New Class base within two years. More details have become available. BMW already confirmed in March 2023 that six model […]
January 23, 2024
Car manufacturers are making increasingly wider cars. For instance, the 1974 Volkswagen Golf was ‘only’ 1,610 m wide, but the 2019 version measured 1,790 m. Not to mention the Dodge Ram, which is more than two meters wide – 2,085 m, to be precise- overshooting the 1,80 m-wide parking spaces by almost 30 cm. The […]
January 22, 2024
Chinese auto manufacturing group BYD is reportedly considering expanding its European range with hybrid off-road models from its sub-brands Yangwang and Fangchengbao. The former is a 1200-hp luxury vehicle with tank turn capability, and the latter is a more affordable SUV that could rival the Toyota Land Cruiser and Land Rover Defender. BYD is expanding […]
January 22, 2024
Volvo Car Gent celebrates a stellar year as it nailed a total production of 230 527 cars in 2023, marking a significant 19,4% increase from the previous year’s output of 192 991 vehicles. It’s the first time in four years that the factory has surpassed the figure of 200 000 cars per year. In 2024, […]
January 19, 2024
The Afro-European start-up NamX has released more details about its first car, the HUV. It appears that the automaker is joining the league of combustion-engined hydrogen cars, as the driveline of HUV features a roaring V8. We didn’t see that one coming. All passenger cars on hydrogen today use a fuel cell to make the […]
January 18, 2024
After four years of decline, the sales of Renault group are going upwards again (+9%). In 2023, the group sold 2 235 000 vehicles worldwide. Sales to individual buyers represent 65% of total sales in the five most important European markets. In a press release on Wednesday, the Group says to be “in a dynamic […]
January 18, 2024
Last year, Belgium registered 25 359 new motorcycles, 2,7% more than the previous year. According to the car and two-wheeler federation Febiac, motorcycles are increasingly popular, so registrations and the number of driving licenses issued are growing. For a long time, motorcycles were mainly seen as recreational vehicles. However, today, they’re increasingly popular among commuters. […]
January 18, 2024
Since 2021, the Ford Kuga has been Europe’s best-selling plug-in hybrid. The SUV has received a mid-cycle refresh, including a redesigned nose, updated technology, and a slightly more powerful plug-in hybrid drivetrain. Sales of the new model are set to kick off in January 2024. Although it was slow to launch due to battery problems […]
January 17, 2024
BYD expands its Ocean line-up with the Sea Lion 07, a mid-size electric Coupé-SUV that should compete with the Tesla Model Y. Ahead of its official launch in the first half of 2024, China’s MIIT leaks the new model’s technical specifications. The Sea Lion 07 will have three powertrain variants, including two single-motor versions and […]
January 17, 2024
At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, California-based AC Future presented the ETH, a fully electric RV concept designed by Pininfarina with expandable walls that convert it into a luxurious living area and a mobile workspace. The AC Future eTH stands for ‘Electric Transformer House’, which is a great way to describe the […]
January 16, 2024
Maserati gains a new showroom in Belgium with Maserati Center Antwerp, a new concept store built in collaboration with D’Ieteren. The Belgian VW importer is expanding its business into the luxury segment, including creating dealerships of brands outside the Volkswagen Group portfolio. D’Ieteren may be best known as the Belgian importer of VW Group brands […]
January 16, 2024
The future Lancia Ypsilon has been photographed in all its glory and without camouflage during a promotional photoshoot in Italy. The new model will surely come with a fully electric variant and will be launched later this year. The first new Lancia for over a decade showcases a new brand design inspired by the recent […]
January 16, 2024
BMW chief financial officer Walter Mertl said in a recent media roundtable BMW has passed the tipping point for combustion engine vehicle sales and now generates most sales growth from electric cars. “The tipping point for the combustion engine is already there,” the CFO said, adding that, in his view, it had been passed last […]
January 15, 2024
Volkswagen has published its Group-wide sales figures for the past year. According to the figures, the Volkswagen Group delivered 771 100 fully electric vehicles worldwide in 2023. Across all drive types, Volkswagen achieved total sales of 9,24 million vehicles in 2023, an increase of 21% compared to 2022. The 771 100 fully electric vehicles delivered […]
January 15, 2024
Kia has shown its vision of the future of mobility at CES 2024 in Las Vegas, with a modular ‘Platform Beyond Vehicle’ (PBV) that takes another stab at creating a continuously customizable vehicle. But this is no simple fantasy: the first model, the Kia PV5, will enter mass production in 2025. Kia’s Platform Beyond Vehicle […]
January 15, 2024
The French start-up company Tiamat Energy is planning a factory for sodium-ion battery cells with an annual capacity of 5 GWh in northern France and is receiving financial support from Stellantis, among others. Tiamat Energy is a sodium-ion cell developer spun off from the French National Research Centre CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique). […]
January 12, 2024
Mullen Automotive, a US-based manufacturer mostly specialized in converting Chinese EVs for its domestic market, has brought a self-developed high-performance electric crossover to CES 2024 in Las Vegas. The Mullen Five RS promises over 1 000 horsepower, 0-100 km/hour in less than two seconds, and a 2025 launch. Those figures sound promising, but Mullen Automotive’s […]
January 12, 2024
Since September last year, Wolfgang Bremm von Kleinsorgen (52) has been CEO of Mercedes-Benz Benelux. He took the alternative Mercedes motor show event ‘Defining Class Star Days’ in his own headquarters as an opportunity to talk to the outside world for the first time. The new CEO originates from Aachen, Germany, and knows Belgium fairly […]
January 11, 2024
By the end of 2027, BMW will no longer manufacture combustion-engined models in the plant in Munich near its headquarters. The premium automaker introduces the production of the revolutionary New Class in 2026 and will gradually fade out the ICE version as the line will be reserved exclusively for the electric range. BMW broke the […]
January 11, 2024
At CES 2024 in Las Vegas, Vietnamese electric carmaker VinFast revealed two new models. The VF Wild, a mid-size zero-emission pickup truck, wants to challenge the F-150 Lightning and Rivian RR1T, while the small VF3 takes on a more global role as an affordable two-door ‘mini-eSUV’. Indeed, the VF Wild is the more noticeable of […]
January 11, 2024
Honda has decided to start again from a blank sheet of paper for its next-generation electric vehicles. The 0-Series concept cars, the Saloon and Space-Hub, represent this new approach with a light and nimble design to bring back the joy of driving in the EV era. We should be able to discover the results in […]
January 11, 2024
Chinese BYD (Build Your Dreams) just unveiled on Weibo ‘out of the blue’ the new super sedan under its premium YangWang brand name, the U7, which is yet another challenger for German premium brands like Porsche, Mercedes, and BMW. Previously, only some European patent images of the sedan appeared, identified as ‘U6’. But apart from […]
