Brussel hands out 180 000 hours of free parking tickets

May 19, 2023

A charm offensive by the city of Brussels toward merchants and shopping motorists. Indeed, the city of Brussels is going to distribute thousands of free parking tickets. This was announced by Alderman for Economic Affairs, Fabian Maingain (DEFI). By doing so, he wants to support downtown merchants while encouraging “efficient mobility solutions”. Guide motorists’ behavioral […]

Uber launches flight booking in its UK app

May 11, 2023

Technology company Uber, which offers taxi rides and meal deliveries with its app, is to expand its services. This summer, it will launch a feature in the UK that will allow users to book flights directly in its app. The feature was launched on Uber’s UK app for multimodal travel options last year, and the […]

Sparki wants to double Belgian supercharger network in 2023

May 10, 2023

Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Open Vld) has inaugurated the first supercharger station from Sparki, a provider rooted in Belgium. The two superchargers in Deinze kickstart the first series of six ultra-fast charging stations capable of 300 kW, becoming operational in the following days. By the end of this year, the start-up company wants to […]

Brussels working on new bike sharing system without Villo!

May 08, 2023

There is a hitch in the marriage between the Brussels Region and Villo! Operator JCDecaux. Brussels Mobility Minister Elke Van den Brandt (Groen) suggested last year that Villo! no longer met the expectations of the Brussels Region. The Brussels Region is now launching a study to replace Villo! So writes the business newspaper L’Echo. The […]

Arval: ‘Mobility offer is important factor in employment search’

May 02, 2023

In Belgium, a comprehensive mobility offer is a decisive factor for seven out of ten employees in choosing their employer. That’s the result of a European survey of the Arval Mobility Observatory interrogating employees in the private sector. The observatory questioned 2 905 European employees for this Employee Mobility Survey, living in Belgium, France, Germany, […]

Eindhoven deploys 14 electric garbage trucks from DAF

April 21, 2023

Waste management collective Cure Afvalbeheer has ordered 14 DAF CF Electric garbage trucks. The first seven have been deployed to collect household waste in the Dutch municipalities of Eindhoven, Valkenswaard, and Geldrop-Mierlo. These new trucks are not only more pleasant for the environment, but they also make life easier for garbage collectors with their fully […]

Mini’s new in-car digital companion has four paws and is called Spike

April 11, 2023

Man’s best friend is getting a promotion to a digital assistant. Mini debuts the English Bulldog Spike in its Concept Aceman for the Auto Shanghai show, starting next week on April 18th. It’s still a design concept for now, but Spike will make its way into Mini’s digital ecosystem in the future. Spike has been […]

Ford Pro CEO : ‘Software-based vehicle is much harder to design than EV’

April 06, 2023

Just before the presentation of the new Ford E-Transit Courier, we got a chance to sit down with the CEO of Ford’s commercial vehicle operation Ted Cannis. He offered some insight on what’s next for Ford Pro, and how he would like to see some support from the Belgian government for electric commercial vehicles. “At […]

D’Ieteren’s Taxis Verts reflects on 6 months of hydrogen taxi usage

April 04, 2023

D’Ieteren’s Taxis Verts and Colruyt’s Virya Energy started a pilot project in September 2022 with a Toyota Mirai as a hydrogen taxi to see if this type of drivetrain is a suitable option as the taxi sector in Brussels is forced to electrify by 2025. With half of the year-long test program completed, both companies […]

Toyota partners with Electreon to wirelessly charge its EVs

March 28, 2023

Toyota and component supplier Denso have signed an agreement with Israeli wireless EV charging specialist Electreon to develop a wireless charging solution for the electric vehicles of the Japanese car manufacturer. This includes integrating wireless charging in new vehicles, an aftermarket solution for existing cars, and a plan to standardize the technology. Electreon specializes in […]

Ebusco to deliver 63 electric buses for Groningen

March 23, 2023

Dutch electric bus manufacturer Ebusco has secured a new deal with Dutch public transport company Qbuzz, providing up to 63 Ebusco 3.0 electric buses for the Groningen and Drenthe provinces. The new-gen buses are equipped with a large battery pack, allowing them to perform their daily duties without recharging. Qbuzz is a regional public transport […]

Miles lands in Antwerp with fleet of 100 shared cars

March 21, 2023

German provider Miles Mobility landed on Tuesday in Antwerp with a fleet of 100 shared cars, all VW Polos and Audi to start. After Ghent, its Belgian introduction, Miles started running a fleet of 100 Opel Corsa models in the capital. With three footholds in Belgium now, one-way trips between the three cities and the […]

TotalEnergies sells all its Dutch and German fuel stations

March 17, 2023

The French oil and gas concern TotalEnergies sells all its gas stations in Germany and the Netherlands – almost 1 600 – to Alimentation Couche-Tard, the Canadian multinational operator of convenience stores, offering a wide variety of products for people on the go. In Belgium and Luxembourg, TotalEnergies is the market leader with 619 gas […]

World’s first Tesla Supercharger V4 launched in the Netherlands

March 16, 2023

Tesla has implemented the first batch of V4 Superchargers in Harderwijk, the Netherlands, which offers improved compatibility with a wider range of vehicles thanks to a longer charging cable and the ability to offer up to 1 000 V and a theoretical 615 kW of electricity. Tesla has been gradually improving their Supercharger fast-charging stations, […]

Mercedes to roll out its own ‘supercharger’ network (update)

March 13, 2023

Mercedes plans the rollout of its own high-speed charging network. Called HiPower, North American customers will be served first with 20 fast charging plazas, but other major markets, like Europe and China, will follow. The first charging plazas in Europe will be built in Germany and France starting in Q4 of this year, the boss […]

Car sharing is becoming increasingly popular in Belgium

March 01, 2023

Car sharing has been on the rise in Belgium for a while, but new figures indicate a real boom. In 2022, for instance, the number of active car-sharing users in Belgium rose by 40% to 121 394, a record number. So reports non-profit organization Autodelen.net in its latest report. More than half of car-sharers are […]

Vattenfall and Stromma to electrify Amsterdam canal boats

February 24, 2023

Vattenfall, a state-owned Swedish multinational power company, and Stromma Group, a sightseeing bus and boat service provider operational in six countries, are investing in emission-free, electric sightseeing boats. They will kick off their project in Amsterdam, and electrify Stromma’s boat fleet to provide fossil-free transportation. Vattenfall will supply the battery system for the emission-free operation […]

Schiphol Airport tests self-riding wheelchair service

February 23, 2023

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and Axxicom Airport Caddy are launching an experiment with self-riding wheelchairs this week. The wheelchairs, equipped with smart technology from WHILL Autonomous Mobility, are already being used successfully at major airports such as Tokyo International Airport in Japan. The wheelchair service should improve customer satisfaction and contribute to Schiphol’s objective to make […]

Hyundai starts monthly subscription offer in the US

February 13, 2023

Korean carmaker Hyundai has announced at the Chicago Auto Show that it will start offering the Kona Electric and Ioniq 5 on a monthly subscription basis called Evolve+. By lowering the threshold, the company hopes to attract first-time EV customers and persuade them about the benefits of electric driving. Apart from subscription services being the […]

Coyote drivers slow down for 22.000 ‘identified’ bends

February 09, 2023

Two years after starting the program in June 2020, navigation aid specialist Coyote says it has registered an apparent change in the behavior of its drivers after identifying more than 22 000 dangerous bends on Belgian roads. The navigation aid system warns when you are approaching a dangerous curve, which already resulted in drivers limiting […]

Poppy to tripple fleet of shared cars in Belgium

January 25, 2023

Poppy Mobility, the car, e-scooter, and e-bike sharing daughter of D’Ieteren Automotive, is going to triple its fleet of shared cars from 1 000 to 3 000 in the next months to comply with the growing demand of about 200 000 users, the company announces. Soaring costs of living, the growing part of teleworking, and […]

Hertz to deploy 25 000 EVs for Uber drivers in Europe

January 18, 2023

US car rental company Hertz will make 25 000 electric vehicles available to Uber drivers in Europe by 2025. The two companies announced this in a joint statement on Tuesday. The first vehicles will be available for hire in London from January. The initiative will then be extended to Paris, Amsterdam, and other major cities. […]

Febelfin: ‘204 000 consumer credits contribute to greener mobility’

January 17, 2023

Consumer credits for new cars in 2022, amounting to around two billion euros, support the transition to environmentally friendly vehicles. That is the conclusion of BVK, the professional association for credit (Beroepsvereniging van het Krediet, BVK), and published by the federation of the financial sector Febelfin. Following the opening of the actual Brussels Motor Show, […]

‘At least 25% of last-mile deliveries should be done by bike’

January 17, 2023

Minister Petra De Sutter (Groen) wants more parcels delivered by bicycle, she said during a company visit to Cargo Velo, the all-round urban courier service operational in Ghent, Antwerp, and Brussels. E-commerce is still booming, partly due to the corona crisis, but, unfortunately, most deliveries are still made by vans. However, according to experts, at […]

Yescapa: sharing RVs among private individuals gains momentum

January 17, 2023

If there is one sector for which the corona pandemic was a blessing, it is the recreational vehicle (RV) sector. After the first lockdown in 2020, demand skyrocketed in 2021, with a peak in Belgium never seen before. But with 2022 and the Ukraine war, uncertainty and inflation pushed private individuals more than ever to […]

D’Ieteren will show more than cars at BMS

January 12, 2023

Where VW Group importer D’Ieteren had decided not to be present at the 2022 BMS (which was finally canceled), it’s again present with an entire exposition hall (11) at the BMS 2023. But the importer will not only show the novelties of its VW Group brands. Apart from that, all ‘new mobility’ proposals will also […]

‘Premium experiences and events’ instead of a motor show

January 12, 2023

The organizers of the Brussels Motor Show are announcing the presence of 95% of the market at the motor show opening its doors (for the press and VIP guests) tomorrow. However, it’s only 85% considering that Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar Land Rover will only be ‘symbolically’ present. Volvo and Mercedes explain that they prefer organizing their […]

Dutch fast-charging operator Fastned almost tripled revenue  

January 12, 2023

During the last quarter of 2022, the Dutch fast-charging operator witnessed a growth of almost factor three compared to the year before. Apart from a significant expansion of its network, this is attributed to the rise in BEVs on the roads. As well as price hikes due to the energy crisis. In the last quarter […]

Flanders to allow wider bicycle trailers for last-mile deliveries

January 10, 2023

Flanders launches a two-year pilot project allowing large bicycle trailers on public roads. Flemish Mobility Minister Lydia Peeters (Open Vld) hopes the experiment will contribute to the emission-free delivery of goods in city centers. Today, bicycle trailers may not be wider than one meter. However, during the pilot project, companies will be able to apply […]

Michelin shows automated tire inspection scanner TireStation

January 06, 2023

ProovStation and Michelin unveiled TireStation, a fast and reliable solution for automated tire inspection, at the CES in Las Vegas. Combining the expertise and know–how of both companies, the system optimizes professional tire inspection. According to both companies, TireStation is a turnkey tire diagnosis solution for professionals with a wide range of advantages: improved measurement […]

Brussels Train World museum passes mark of one million visitors

January 04, 2023

On Tuesday, January 3rd, the Brussels museum ‘Train World’ in Schaarbeek (Brussels) welcomed its one-millionth visitor. Train World is the museum of NMBS/SNCB, the National Company of the Belgian Railways. It is Belgium’s first real railway museum, and it opened its doors to the general public in September 2015. Visitors can get a unique view […]

Survey: ‘One-third of Belgians not in favor of electrified car’

December 22, 2022

Belgium’s biggest bank, BNP Paribas Fortis, wants to be far more active in the mobility sector. So it launched a survey among 2 000 Belgians about their mobility preferences. 35% of the respondents declared not to be ready for electrification (fully electric or hybrid), which is a 6% increase compared to 2021. The electric transition […]

Dott chooses Maxus for its service vans in Belgium

December 22, 2022

Micromobility operator Dott, which has shared e-scooters and e-bikes in several Belgian cities, has acquired 15 electric vans from Maxus to use as service vehicles. The vehicles were delivered by the leasing company Athlon. The blue-and-red shared e-scooters from Dott are becoming common in Belgian cities like Brussels, Ghent, and Liège. Those bikes and scooters […]

De Lijn needs to recruit 900 additional drivers in 2023

December 21, 2022

In recent months, the Flemish public transport company De Lijn had to cancel many planned trips. The reason for it was a shortage of staff. After an intensive recruitment campaign focusing on the largest ‘problem areas’ (Antwerp, Louvain, and the Flemish part of Brussels), De Lijn recently recruited 657 drivers. However, next year, the company […]

Bravoauto: new second-hand car business by Belgian Toyota importer

December 20, 2022

Inchcape, the British car distributor that also imports Toyota, Lexus, and BYD in Belgium, has opened a second-hand car business to try to take a piece of the growing used car market. The company is called Bravoauto and has already opened a delivery center in Machelen, near Brussels Airport. The Belgian used car market has […]

Car importer D’Ieteren takes over Jennes dealerships (update)

December 20, 2022

Via its daughter Sopadis, D’ieteren Auto wants to take over the dealerships owned by the Jennes family in the eastern part of the Vlaams Brabant province. In a press release, D’Ieteren states that the negotiations for the take-over are in an advanced stage. Just yesterday, the Belgian competition authority approved the take-over without remarks. The […]

Brussels launches website with 2.311 EV charging locations

December 14, 2022

The Brussels region has launched the new website electrify.brussels, which groups all information on public charging stations for electric vehicles – today exactly 2 311 – in the capital. Brussels Environment Minister Alain Aaron (Ecolo) also announced that EnergyVision won the public contract for 500 new charging points. To support the electrification of the car […]

Renault’s new Mobilize Lease&Co targets fleet of one million cars

December 13, 2022

Mobilize Financial Services (MFS), a subsidiary of the Renault Group (ex-RCI Banque), is throwing itself further into the market of long-term rental and created Mobilize Lease&Co for all the Alliance brands, Renault, Dacia, Alpine, and Nissan. The goal is to expand the lease fleet from 350 000 today to one million cars by 2030 and […]

VinFast opens its first European stores, but no cars yet

December 07, 2022

As promised, the Vietnamese car manufacturer VinFast has opened its first two stores in Cologne (Germany) and Paris (France). However, the cars have been delayed to 2023 due to chip shortages affecting the launch. VinFast has officially kicked off its European endeavor with the first stores in Cologne and Paris, located in “high-visibility corners” in […]

Belgian VW importer D’Ieteren opens Maserati dealership in Antwerp

December 02, 2022

D’Ieteren keeps expanding its activities in unchartered territory. After the egg-shaped city car, Mircolino, and the newly adopted multi-brand approach for its used car subsidiary, MyWay, the importer of the VW Group brands, is set to open a dealership for Maserati in Antwerp. “With great pleasure, we announce our collaboration with D’Ieteren for the region […]

Mercedes USA offers power upgrade via subscription

November 25, 2022

Mercedes-Benz USA has posted a new product called ‘Acceleration Increase‘ on its online shop’s website. The new service costs $1 200 for one year (excluding tax) of the service, which can improve an EQ vehicle’s acceleration by 0,8 to 1,0 seconds. The car manufacturer’s website writes that the new service will “unleash enhanced performance for […]

100th Brussels Motor Show: less space, more information and animation

November 25, 2022

The anniversary edition of the Brussels Motor Show (BMS), taking place from 14 to January 22nd, 2023, is not to be considered the 100th edition of the ‘old school’ motor show but the first of a new kind. The aim is clear: inform the visitor/customer about the energy transition and its (electric) influence on mobility. […]

Touring taken over by AG Insurance and BNP Paribas Fortis bank

November 24, 2022

An old icon of ‘Belgianism’, the 127-year-old Royal Touring Club of Belgium is being sold to insurance company AG (75%) and Belgian’s biggest bank company BNP Paribas Fortis (25%). How much money is involved in the transaction is not specified. However, it allows Touring to continue road assistance and other activities in a world where […]

D’Ieteren’s second-hand car chain MyWay goes fully multi-brand

November 14, 2022

MyWay, the second-hand car sales chain of Belgian Volkswagen brand importer D’Ieteren Automotive, extends its offer beyond the ‘house brands’ Audi, Seat, Škoda, and Volkswagen and goes fully ‘multi-brand’. Some 3 000 ‘certified’ cars are available in 200 dealerships and on the MyWay website. This year the group also launched ‘My Way Buy’, a service […]

Miles takes over Volkswagen’s WeShare car-sharing

November 02, 2022

On November 1st, the German car-sharing company Miles Mobility officially acquired Volkswagen Group’s all-electric car-sharing service WeShare. Until recently, WeShare operated as a service of Urban Mobility International GmbH, a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG. At the same time, Miles has ordered more than 10 000 electric vehicles from Audi, Seat, Cupra, and VW. The ordered […]

Unions take European action against Uber

October 25, 2022

The European Trade Union Confederation, an umbrella organization of European trade unions, is taking action against taxi and courier service Uber at the European Parliament. Remarkably, the socialist union ABVV-BTB is also participating, even though it reached a ‘historic’ agreement with Uber last week. Hearings will take place in the European Parliament on Tuesday about […]

First NIO ET7 with subscription delivered in the Netherlands (update)

October 25, 2022

Last week Chinese premium electric carmaker NIO has delivered in the Netherlands its first ET7 sedan with the new subscription model for Europe. Like Lynk & Co does with its 01 PHEV, this fully electric EV with a 100 kWh battery can be ‘subscribed to’ on a flexible monthly basis. Eventually, NIO wanted to offer […]

E-moped maker Blitz with Belgian roots rides wave of expansion

October 21, 2022

From its European headquarters in Zaventem, Belgium, e-moped maker Blitz is pushing a successful international expansion. After Israël, Singapore, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, South Africa, and the States, the company opened a hub in the UK this month. Blitz aims mainly at B2B customers in the last-mile delivery sector, for which it has developed a […]

Miles car sharing arrives in Brussels

October 19, 2022

German car-sharing company Miles is expanding its presence in Belgium, and after its debut in Ghent, it is now also available in Brussels. The company is running a fleet of 100 Opel Corsa models in the capital, which are offered in a Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) model. Antwerp is the next city on the strategic roadmap. “It […]

ACEA urges EU once again to increase number of charging points for EVs

October 13, 2022

According to data from the European constructors’ federation ACEA, 6 of 27 EU countries have less than one EV charging point per 100 km of road, with fast charging availability also below the level needed to support the growing electric vehicle market share. It’s not the first time that the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) […]

Hasselt to launch autonomous shuttle experiment

October 13, 2022

The city of Hasselt (Limburg) is planning an experiment with a self-driving shuttle. The project is intended to try out an autonomous connection between the parking of the Trixxo Arena and the PXL academy campus. It’s the second similar project (after Mechelen) on public territory in Flanders. The shuttle will be available for one month […]

GM creates Energy subsidiary for powering homes with EVs

October 12, 2022

General Motors is introducing “a new energy ecosystem” based on bidirectional charging, shortly called ‘GM Energy’. Basically, this is the principle of electric cars connecting to the home (V2H) and the national power grid (V2G) to support energy supply, preferably renewable. Just a few days ago, Volvo announced a similar V2X home system for its […]

BMW doubles EV sales, and gives OTA upgrades

October 12, 2022

During the first nine months of 2022, BMW Group more than doubled its BEV sales. Meanwhile, it is now offering over-the-air (OTA) upgrades for 3,8 million vehicles on the road. The BMW Group sold 128 196 fully-electric BMW and MINI vehicles in the first nine months of the year (+114,8%). In the third quarter, 52 […]

VAB wants standard driver’s license based on automatic transmission

October 11, 2022

Flemish mobility organization VAB, the largest driving school in Belgium, pleads for introducing a standard driver’s license for cars with an automatic transmission because, with the rapid rise of electric cars, it is no longer necessary to teach candidate drivers to shift gears manually. On Monday, VAB also announced that it intends to electrify half […]

Renault to beat Ionity with 400 kW fast charging network

October 11, 2022

In the wake of the Paris Motorshow, Renault announced the rollout of a fast charging network across Europe. It will be located at the dealerships of the car builder and open to all car brands. With a peak power of 400 kW, the network tops today’s most powerful stations from Ionity or FastNed. As Renault […]

SAIC’s MG and Maxus EVs to come with swappable batteries

October 11, 2022

One of China’s major car manufacturers, SAIC Motor, known in Europe for its EVs under the former British MG brand and the Maxus vans, is stepping into the booming battery-swapping business with battery giant CATL and two giant oil companies. A new joint venture is set up with as its core business the lease of […]

Volocopter performs first manned drone flight in Rome

October 10, 2022

German air mobility company Volocopter has taken the next step on its roadmap toward offering flying taxi services. At Fiumicino Airport in Rome, their 2X electric air taxi took off in front of onlookers from the media and airport officials. The test flight is a prelude to offering real taxi rides in 2024. While the […]

D’Ieteren’s Lizy to broach French second-hand lease market

October 06, 2022

D’Ieteren is bringing the heavy cannons to bear to broach the French market with its daughter Lizy, a specialist in leasing second-hand cars in Belgium today. It raised another €8,5 million from an investment group led by Belgian entrepreneur and millionaire Marc Coucke’s Alychlo and got bank funding of another 32 million. The Belgian used-car […]

Sixt buys 100 000 EVs from Chinese BYD

October 05, 2022

The German car rental company Sixt and the Chinese EV carmaker BYD have concluded a long-term agreement. It guarantees the rental company access to 100 000 BYD electric cars over the next six years. The first EVs should still be delivered in Q4 of 2022, in synch with the Chinese manufacturer’s European launch. As a […]

Uber opens app to book classic taxis in Brussels

October 05, 2022

With Uber Taxi, the Californian mobility provider Uber introduces a new feature for rides in Brussels, allowing conventional or ‘traditional’ taxi drivers to offer rides through the Uber app. The company reported this in a press release on Wednesday. After the Brussels parliament approved the new Taxi Plan in July, which aims to unify the […]