November 28, 2024
The all-electric Renault 5 E-tech is one of the first Renault vehicles equipped with a bidirectional charger capable of Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G). From March 2025, the Dutch city of Utrecht will implement that with a fleet of 500 shared Renault EVs that will help stabilize the grid and deliver extra electricity when demand is high. It […]
October 18, 2024
Poppy, a provider of shared and rental cars, is pulling out of Liège due to too many incidents with the shared cars, according to its marketing director, Pierre de Schaetzen. Poppy, a subsidiary of the Brussels holding company D’Ieteren, has been operating in Liège since early February 2023, the company’s first steps in Wallonia. Around […]
October 11, 2024
Antwerp has a new shared scooter provider. After Poppy and Lime, Bird was the third platform operational in the city, but the latter’s permit recently expired. The city started looking for a new provider and issued a license to the Swedish Voi. Voi was founded in Stockholm (Sweden) and pioneered e-scooters in Europe. The company […]
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
Seven years after starting its car-sharing service under the wings of D’Ieteren Automotive Lab Box, Poppy Mobility is adding taxi services in Brussels with 800 ‘top-rated’ drivers from another D’Ieteren daughter, TaxiVerts. In a press release, Poppy says that it will “source the highest-rated drivers, who will be vetted through a double screening process. Drivers […]
August 13, 2024
BMW has enhanced its brand apps, My BMW and MINI App, with a new Electric Vehicle Analysis function allowing customers who drive a BMW with a combustion engine to simulate how well an all-electric BMW would suit their driving profile. In other words, accurate data to cure its petrol heads’ range anxiety. The setup is […]
August 05, 2024
The Ghent start-up and non-profit organization Straal refurbishes neglected boats to give them a second life. Straal’s initiators want to do something with the many neglected boats left along the banks of the Ghent and European waterways. They focus on the numerous polyester pleasure boats because polyester creates a lot of waste. Refurbishing those boats […]
July 31, 2024
Lime, the world’s largest shared electric vehicle company, recently unveiled its newest electric bikes and scooters. The LimeGlider and LimeBike, as the two latest models are called, were designed using feedback from groups traditionally underrepresented in Lime’s active riders, including women and older riders, to make the new models more inclusive and easier to operate. The […]
July 30, 2024
Dutch city dwellers are increasingly going on holiday with a shared car. According to figures from shared-car provider MyWheels, the number of holiday trips booked with a shared vehicle has increased by almost 150 percent compared to last year. Shared cars for holiday trips are reserved much earlier than for regular trips. A vehicle for […]
April 26, 2024
The Council of State is blowing the Brussels government the whistle over its decision to limit the number of shared e-scooters, according to newspapers La Libre Belgique and La Dernière Heure. Brussels Mobility Minister Elke Van den Brandt (Groen) reacted with disappointment but was delighted that the Council did uphold the drop zones and fines […]
April 23, 2024
In Ghent, 63 cities, companies, and property developers have signed a ‘Green Deal for shared mobility’. Through the partnership, the participants commit to providing the necessary places for shared cars and bikes near homes. The ambition is to have 7,000 shared cars and 150,000 car sharers by 2027. Research shows that each shared car replaces […]
March 19, 2024
Bolt, an Estonian mobility company that offers ride-hailing, micro-mobility rental, and car-sharing services, among other things, expands its service range in Brussels with the launch of a category dedicated to Persons with Reduced Mobility (PRM), underscoring its commitment to more inclusive urban mobility. The new category includes 30 vehicles specially equipped to meet accessibility needs, […]
March 14, 2024
Car-sharing company GreenMobility is leaving Belgium and returning to its Danish home market. After previously exiting the Netherlands, Germany, Finland, and Sweden, the Belgian branch will also be sold or closed down. “A pity,” according to Steve Van Avermaet, responsible for GreenMobility’s Belgian activities. “We were the company’s first foreign market and the last one […]
February 29, 2024
Volvo Cars’ connected safety technology can now alert drivers of accidents ahead. You’re driving down a winding country road. It’s impossible to see beyond the bends in front of you. Suddenly, your Volvo car alerts you: there’s been an accident ahead, just around the bend. “With our new ‘Accident Ahead Alert’, we introduce another pioneering […]
February 27, 2024
Ayvens, the result of the merger between ALD Automotive and Leaseplan, has concluded a framework agreement with Stellantis to purchase up to half a million vehicles by 2026. The deal with Ayvens includes several Stellantis brands and cars with different drives, including electric. First significant delivery volumes are expected to begin in the first half […]
February 26, 2024
Share organization Dégage!, with more than 6,000 members, calls in a memorandum for a favorable parking regime in Ghent that encourages people to share their cars. For example, it wants to make parking more expensive for non-shared cars. It also calls for increasing the number of shared cars in the city to 3,000 by 2030. […]
February 22, 2024
According to the data of the European Car Manufacturers Association ACEA, the EU new car market in January 2024 rebounded from the slowdown experienced in December 2023, with year-on-year car registrations increasing by 12.1% to 851,690 units. Notably, the bloc’s major markets all saw significant growth, with Germany (+19.1%), Italy (+10.6%), France (+9.2%) and Spain […]
February 19, 2024
The number of shared cars has increased significantly in the past year. By the end of 2023, Flanders had 4,159 shared cars, or 31.5% more than the year before. Among them are all types of shared cars: free-floating, roundtrip, and individually shared cars. According to the car-sharing website Autodelen.net’s annual report, you can find shared […]
February 07, 2024
More than 30 organizations have signed the ‘Inclusive Car-sharing’ Green Deal in Brussels, a charter to expand car sharing as a sustainable mobility alternative by giving access to it to as many Brussels residents as possible, regardless of their specific needs. This is an initiative of Brussels Environment and Mobility Ministers Alain Aaron (Ecolo) and […]
January 30, 2024
Car sharing is increasingly popular in Louvain. In the last four years, the number of users has increased by 80%. However, Poppy discontinued service after only three months. In the meantime, newcomer BattMobility hopes to fill the gap. BattMobility only offers electric shared cars with a fixed parking space, a significant difference from Poppy’s concept. […]
January 11, 2024
The German shared e-scooter operator TIER and the Dutch-French micro-mobility company Dott have signed a preliminary agreement to merge the two companies to form Europe’s leading micro-mobility operator. Both companies reported this in a press release. The joint entity will continue to operate under the Dott and TIER brands. The merger is expected to take […]
January 04, 2024
Cambio, the car-sharing system, had another record year. Last year, the company took over 1 million rides for the first time. It also added some 7 000 new users, so today cambio has more than 70 000 members. Those as many as 70 648 members can fall back on a fleet of more than 2 […]
December 21, 2023
Shared mobility platforms Poppy and GreenMobility are withdrawing from several regional capitals. As of January 1st, 2024, the typical red Poppy cars will no longer be seen in Ghent, Leuven, and Mechelen. The GreenMobility vehicles, on the other hand, will disappear from the streets in Brussels and Ghent. D’Ieteren’s subsidiary Poppy was launched in Mechelen […]
December 08, 2023
Italo-French-US carmaker Stellantis embraces battery-swapping technology from Californian start-up Ample to equip a Free2Move car-sharing fleet of a hundred Fiat 500e cars in Madrid next year. The Fiat 500e is Stellantis’ highest-selling electric vehicle sold globally. Ample’s fully automated battery swapping stations allow EV drivers with a compatible Ample battery pack to replace the OEM […]
December 07, 2023
In a meeting on Wednesday at the Renault headquarters, the four Alliance leaders tried to reassure the outside world of their determination to create a future for the Alliance between Mitsubishi, Nissan, and Renault. “The future of the Alliance is ‘exciting’, ‘resilient’, and ‘innovative’,” the four stressed. “This Alliance is more flexible, open, eager, and […]
December 05, 2023
Most rides on a Blue-bike, a bike-sharing project of which the Flemish public transport company De Lijn is the main shareholder, will become one euro more expensive from next year. This is because the concession from the Flemish government will disappear. Indeed, for each 24-hour ride, the Flemish government has reimbursed one euro. From 1 […]
November 15, 2023
Lynk & Co subscribers in Europe lending their 01 plug-in hybrid to other users have earned themselves back some 850 000 euros in the last twelve months, sharing the car some 18 000 times or approximately for 1,5 million hours. By setting the rental price themselves, some of them even make a revenue of over […]
October 17, 2023
Sweden´s largest energy storage system, made with reuse batteries with an output of 2.8 megawatts, was commissioned on Monday in Gothenburg. BatteryLoop, the subsidiary of Swedish Stena Recycling, specializing in connecting used EV batteries, used batteries from Mercedes-Benz EVs for its stationary energy storage system. The storage system is to power a new sustainable district […]
October 09, 2023
Flemish Mobility Minister Lydia Peeters (Open VLD) launched a ‘Flemish Task Force Autonomous Transport’, in view to coordinate and accelerate the development of autonomous transport in Flanders. “The aim of the task force is to lead the upswing of autonomous transport in Flanders and to support new pilot projects maximally,” says Peeters. “Autonomous mobility is […]
October 05, 2023
Today, the Dutch Coalition of Car-sharing Providers (Coalitie van Deelauto-aanbieders, CvD), launches its collaboration. The five coalition members – GreenMobility, MyWheels, Share Now, Sixt share, and SnappCar – want to promote car sharing and stimulate conversation between the sector, civil servants, politicians, and experts. According to CvD, car sharing is a practical, affordable, and more […]
October 03, 2023
With the ‘Green Deal Inclusive Car Sharing’, the Brussels Region wants to encourage as many Brussels residents as possible to share cars. Launched by Brussels Environment Minister Alain Maron (Ecolo) and his Mobility colleague Elke Van den Brandt (Groen), the project aims to make car sharing in Brussels more significant, sustainable, and inclusive. The project […]
September 25, 2023
Twenty-six Antwerp action groups have joined forces and launched an election memorandum on Friday about mobility in the province of Antwerp. The memorandum calls for a “catch-up” effort, including “substantial investments” in public transport and pedestrian and cycling facilities. According to the activists, the promised “modal shift” to at least 50% of journeys that must […]
September 21, 2023
GreenMobility, the Antwerp-based platform for shared e-cars, wants to make car sharing affordable and sustainable for students. With the special GreenStudent subscription, they can now travel cheaply all year round with a minimal ecological footprint. The GreenStudent subscription gives students access to 100% electric cars at any time of the day. They receive a 10% […]
September 05, 2023
Rome has not gone as far as Paris, but instead of a total ban, the Eternal City, following the example of Brussels, is limiting the number of rental e-scooters from 14 500 to 9 000 from 1 September. At the same time, the city is also implementing new rules to regulate the use of the […]
September 05, 2023
ALD Automotive/LeasePlan introduces B2B car sharing in Belgium with Moovee, specializing in shared mobility. This way, the European leader wants to offer companies affordable, flexible, and green transport solutions for their employees. Cars are stationary 95% of the time. So, sharing a car is a sustainable way to optimize car use. The leasing company offers […]
August 29, 2023
Chinese electric car manufacturer Xpeng signed a strategic partnership with shared mobility provider Didi. The deal includes the development of a new small electric car brand (project name Mona) and an investment by Xpeng in Didi. Xpeng wants to launch a new EV brand in 2024. It is currently being developed under the project name […]
August 14, 2023
More than four out of ten Dutch citizens think their country has to eliminate the idea that everyone has to own a car. Energy provider Zonneplan did a panel survey of 2002 Dutch inhabitants about their views on car possession. The most popular argument against car possession is the high environmental impact of the car […]
August 11, 2023
Robotaxi companies Waymo and Cruise can deploy paid taxi rides in San Francisco every day of the week, night and day. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) made the decision after a seven-hour public hearing. For autonomous driving companies, the approval is a capital step forward. Driverless robotaxis were already allowed in San Francisco for […]
August 01, 2023
Estonian mobility company Bolt wants to make Brussels more inclusive, so under the banner ‘Bolt for All,’ they want to make their e-scooters and e-bikes more accessible to everyone. From now on, all students, job seekers, and people dependent on one of the 19 Brussels Social Services who receive a living wage or its equivalent […]
June 23, 2023
According to three car-sharing platforms operating in Brussels, the number of attempted thefts by minors of their cars has reached alarming levels. La Capitale newspaper reports this. According to them, Miles Mobility, Poppy, and GreenMobility have sent a joint letter to Brussels authorities denouncing the problem. According to the three suppliers, their vehicles in the […]
June 13, 2023
Bolt will be the third company to offer bike-sharing in Ghent. Four years ago, Donkey Republic started in the Artevelde City and has 500 city bikes on offer. Last year, Dott proposed 600 electric bikes and 45 cargo bikes. Bolt is joining the club, starting with another 400 electric bikes. The Bolt bikes will be […]
May 23, 2023
By early autumn, the City of Brussels will have set up 250 drop zones for e-scooters from sharing platforms in the Pentagon. So says Brussels Alderman for Mobility Bart Dhondt (Groen). The Brussels government is working on a decree to regulate the operation of shared bikes and e-scooters in the Brussels region. Among other things, […]
May 10, 2023
Poppy Mobility, D’Ieteren’s shared mobility service, has invested significantly in recent months. The company doubled its offer and now has a fleet of 1 000 vehicles in the 19 Brussels municipalities and 2 000 in Antwerp, Ghent, Mechelen, Lier, Liège, and Belgian airports. Since January 1st, the company also uses a system based on facial […]
May 05, 2023
Whether it is an effect of the recent ban in Paris is not immediately clear, but Brussels is drastically changing course about shared vehicles. Starting next year, the Brussels government wants to allow a maximum of 8 000 shared e-scooters on the capital’s streets. From 2024, there would only be room for two operators versus […]
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, […]
May 02, 2023
Poppy Mobility, D’Ieteren’s shared mobility service, has decided to give its users a choice to pay per kilometer or minute. Until now, the mobility provider only offered a price per minute. Now it is also possible to choose to pay per kilometer. The new formula, with a well-thought-out rate of 0,95 euro/km, reduces the stress […]
April 07, 2023
Of the planned 1 966 Hoppin Points in Flanders, barely 65 have been completed today, only three percent of the network, the newspaper Het Belang van Limburg writes. However, the new mobility hubs envisioned by the Flemish Minister for Mobility Lydia Peeters (Open Vld) are crucial in the Basic Accessibility plan. That plan designs a […]
April 03, 2023
As expected, Parisians voted overwhelmingly against using shared e-scooters in their capital: on Sunday, 89,03% were against in the citizens’ poll. However, the low turnout was also striking. Only just over 100 000 people, or 7,46% of Parisians, had registered for the referendum. So from 1 September, shared e-scooters will disappear from the Paris streets […]
April 03, 2023
D’Ieteren’s shared mobility service, Poppy Mobility, will double its fleet in Antwerp to meet growing demand. By the end of spring, 450 new red cars will be driving around in the city of Antwerp, on top of the 450 shared cars that are already available now. “The expansion of our fleet will allow us to […]
March 30, 2023
The French government has finalized its national regulation plan for e-scooter users. As a result, the age to use an e-scooter goes from 12 to 14 years old, and the fines for e-scooter offenses go up sharply. By doing so, the government hopes to reduce the nuisance of the mode of transport that has become […]
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 […]
March 03, 2023
There will be an end to the nuisance and the uncontrolled proliferation of shared e-scooters lying around in the Brussels Region. Some 3 000 parking spaces or drop zones are going to be created. The distribution between the municipalities has been decided in the meantime. Brussels City would get 681 drop zones. The number of shared […]
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 […]
February 22, 2023
The American transport company Lime, known for its free-floating e-scooters and bikes, has posted strong growth of 33% in 2022. The San Francisco-based company recorded a turnover of 466 million dollars (+33% year-on-year), with a gross operating surplus of 4 million dollars at the end, a first for the company. “2022 was our best and […]
February 20, 2023
Parisians will have to go to the polling stations in their arrondissements to vote for or against keeping shared e-scooters on April 2nd. Paris City Hall has announced this. Parisian e-scooter operators have denounced this decision and the organization by the city council of this unprecedented vote or referendum, in ballot boxes and not online. […]
February 13, 2023
As more people chose Bolt’s shared e-scooters, 20 million fewer kilometers were driven by car worldwide. In doing so, Bolt users saved more than 2,4 million kg of CO2 in Europe alone. This is according to a study commissioned by Bolt, an Estonian mobility platform with more than 100 million customers and operating in over […]
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 […]
February 08, 2023
Poppy Mobility, the car, e-scooter, and e-bike sharing daughter of D’Ieteren Automotive, is taking its first steps in Wallonia, in Liège, to be more specific. The shared mobility company, with a fleet of bright red vehicles, has been active in Antwerp, Mechelen, Brussels, Ghent, and the Belgian airports. In January of this year, Poppy announced […]
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 […]
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 […]
