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 […]
January 31, 2023
Flemish drivers are thick-headed. Despite earlier campaigns and an official ban, three out of ten Flemish motorists still use their cell phone, holding it in their hands or having it lying next to them while driving. A rather large group, one in three, uses it when the device sits in a fixed holder on the […]
January 31, 2023
Ford lowers its prices for the Mustang Mach-E in the U.S. as a reaction to Tesla. The starting price for a Mustang Mach-E is now $ 45 995 ($ 900 lower than before, (-2%), and a GT Extended Range now costs $ 63 995, a whopping $ 5 900 less than before (-8,5%). Tesla decided […]
January 31, 2023
In Flanders, anyone who has an electric car but no place to charge it (at home or nearby), can request a public charging station at a maximum of 250 meters from their home. Since September 1st, when the Flemish government introduced the proposal, almost a thousand applications have already been received to install a public […]
January 31, 2023
The patience of 90 000 customers with reservations has come to an end. On Monday, GMC started assembling its zero-emission behemoth Hummer EV SUV after production woos have been resolved. The first one leaving the factory was auctioned for $500 000. The all-electric successor to the famed Hummer was unveiled almost two years ago (April […]
January 31, 2023
The number of toll kilometers driven in Belgium fell last year due to the war in Ukraine, so reports Viapass. This public body coordinates and organizes road pricing in Belgium. Still, revenues from tolls rose to 829,3 million euros in 2022, or a slight increase of 1,86%, but this is mainly due to the indexation […]
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 […]
January 31, 2023
On Monday, Renault and Nissan officially confirmed that their Alliance would be restructured. The aim is to have a more balanced relationship and start a new joint project after a long period of turbulence and disagreements within the Alliance. However, the different agreements still have to be finalized in detail; an official statement is foreseen […]
January 30, 2023
Lucid Motors has launched the non-limited Air Grand Touring, with an all-electric range of over 800 km, in Germany and the Netherlands. At the same time, the American manufacturer unveils a very compact drive unit to be used in 2023’s Formula E cars. Lucid tentatively launched the Air, its luxury electric sedan, in Germany and […]
January 30, 2023
In Ghent, the great Butcher’s Hall, a historic building in the city center near the Castle of the Counts, will become a bicycle shed. The 15th-century market building is in deplorable condition and will be renovated. The city council has decided this. The Butcher’s Hall has had commercial use for a while. In the 1920s, […]
January 30, 2023
The second generation Toyota C-HR will be produced at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Turkey (TMMT) in Sakarya. It will be the first plug-in hybrid passenger car to be produced in Turkey. In addition, TMMT will be Toyota’s first European plant to start producing PHEVs and the first to be equipped with a battery production line. “The […]
January 30, 2023
The electric transition brings out the boldest at Hyundai’s design department. After the eye-catching Ioniq 6, chief creative officer Luc Donkerwolcke has declared to North American dealers that luxury brand Genesis will be putting the X Convertible on the assembly line. The X Convertible was the last in a series of three concepts, which were […]
January 30, 2023
Last Saturday, public transport company De Lijn inaugurated its first new trams in Deurne (Antwerp, Belgium). From Monday, January 30th, the so-called ‘city liner’ (‘stadslijner’, in Dutch) will be used for the first time on line 10, connecting Wijnegem and Schoonselhof. The new trams are 30 meters long and can transport up to 187 passengers. […]
January 27, 2023
Citroën has unveiled its first electric car to go on sale in the Indian market. The new ë-C3 is based on the ICE version, which the French brand launched in India last year, and will hit showrooms in February. The Citroën ë-C3 is powered by a 29,2 kWh battery pack, offering a claimed range of […]
January 27, 2023
French carmaker Peugeot is accelerating its electrification strategy. At the e-Lion event on Thursday, it announced that every Peugeot in the range will offer a battery-powered version as of 2025. The company also said it was looking into making cars last a lifetime by updating and refurbishing the car along the way. It predicts that […]
January 27, 2023
The court in Dutch Oost-Brabant has declared the start-up of solar electric vehicles, Lightyear, bankrupt. The company announced the abrupt stop of assembling its first car, the 0, a few days ago, and filed for suspension of payments. Of the 650 people employed by Lightyear, 620 are without a job. The holding company, Atlas Technology […]
January 27, 2023
Belgian railway network operator Infrabel has inaugurated a new control room in Brussels. This forms the completion of a major operation in which 368 outdated signal boxes were replaced by ten modern counterparts. The program started 18 years ago and represents an investment of nearly 1 billion euros. It turns the operator into one of […]
January 27, 2023
Is this future of its Sportback models? Audi has unveiled the fourth iteration of its concept series Sphere. The ActiveSphere is the most adventurous of all, taking the previously featured functions of lounging whilst driving… offroad. “This is a new type of crossover”, says Chief Designer Gael Buzyn. After the roadster Skysphere, the sedan Grandsphere […]
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 […]
January 27, 2023
French automaker Renault has teamed up with compatriot R-FIT to offer, in 2023, electric retrofit kits for its iconic R4, R5, and later also for the first generation of the Twingo. A complete retrofit kit for the Renault 4 costs €11 900, VAT, and installation included. And the government is willing to subsidize it from […]
January 26, 2023
Munich-based Sono Motors, creators of the Sion solar car, is buying more time to survive by extending its #savesion campaign until the end of February 2023. “As talks with potential investors are in progress”, the founders announce in a press release and a video. So far, they have managed to secure 47 million euros of […]
January 26, 2023
By the end of this year, buses and trams of the Belgian public transport company TEC in Wallonia will automatically get a green light when approaching a traffic light at an intersection. This will reduce travel times, causing fewer delays, and as another positive result, allow for fewer emissions if not yet electric. To technically […]
January 26, 2023
Tesla’s profit growth is continuing at cruising speed. Publishing its final quarter results from 2022 after the bell, the EV maker reaped an annual profit of 12,6 billion dollars (11,5 million euros). This new record represents a rise of 128% compared to the year before. Margins, however, are gradually falling. So, while the company more […]
January 26, 2023
After 4,5 years of work, Amsterdam has inaugurated a new, underground bicycle shelter in front of the central station of Amsterdam. The secured bike racks, built under the water of the station square, offer parking space for almost 7 000 vehicles. Cyclists can park their bikes 24/7, the first 24 hours are free. Cyclists enter […]
January 26, 2023
Flemish public transport company De Lijn has placed a large order of up to 500 electric buses with Iveco, of which 65 articulated e-buses, a first for De Lijn. It’s a tough blow for the Dutch VDL group, which has a new e-bus factory in Roeselare (Belgium) but only gets an order of 75 e-buses […]
January 26, 2023
According to figures from the sector federation SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders), vehicle production in the UK dropped to its lowest point in almost 70 years. However, a revival is due for the year 2023. “The automobile industry in the UK has been going through three horrible years,” resumes Mike Hawes, general director […]
January 26, 2023
The federal government in Belgium will conclude an agreement with the regions to set up a central bicycle register, MyBike. On it, owners can store the details of their bicycle and file a report, as well as check whether a second-hand bicycle has been reported as stolen. The initiative for a national bicycle register was […]
January 25, 2023
On Tuesday, the Colruyt Clevon delivery robot, on test since November last year, has delivered for the first time groceries to a client, 26-year-old Ellen Cools, who lives on the trajectory between the distribution center and the Collect & Go pickup point in Londerzeel. Colruyt has found thirty clients living along the route the robot […]
January 25, 2023
German multinational energy company RWE is building two new plants in the Maastricht-Roermond region in the Netherlands, to produce 54 000 tons of green hydrogen yearly out of 700 000 tons of municipal solid waste that otherwise would have to be incinerated. Hydrogen from non-recyclable solid waste streams saves around 3,6 million tons of CO2 […]
January 25, 2023
On Tuesday, Tesla announced in a statement an investment of “more than 3,6 billion dollars”, to expand its factory in Nevada for manufacturing its Semi-truck and the new 4680 batteries. The continuing growth of Tesla’s mother of all factories is demanding more infrastructure and more financial provisions. The new battery cell factory will have a […]
January 25, 2023
By May 1st at the latest, all workers in the private sector will be entitled to a bicycle allowance. In addition, trade unions and employer organizations concluded a supplementary collective agreement in the National Labour Council (NAR). The compensations, indexed annually, amount to 0,27 euros per km for those who regularly cycle to and from […]
January 25, 2023
Last year was a (or another) tough year for both the passenger vehicle market and commercial vehicle registrations. As a result, the European numbers dropped by 14,6% in 2022, with Belgium being one of the countries that was hit the hardest by supply chain issues. Overall, the number of new commercial vehicles registered in Europe […]
January 25, 2023
The high-speed train operators Eurostar and Thalys merger has entered a new phase. The former exploits high-speed train connections between Belgium and the Netherlands, France, and Germany; the latter between the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and the UK. By 2030, the group intends to transport 30 million passengers annually, or twice as many as in 2022. […]
January 25, 2023
In France, Toyota will offer an e-cargo bike for the last-mile delivery sector and privateers. It has struck a deal with French e-bike brand Douze to jointly market a new e-cargo bike with “the potential of replacing a car”. The initiative is regional, as it was realized and managed by Toyota’s French subsidiary. With the […]
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 25, 2023
According to the powerful and usually well-informed German workers union, IG Metall, Ford Motor Company is again planning to cut thousands of jobs. Different sources talk about 3 200 across Europe, but the biggest part of it will be in Germany. The proving grounds in Belgian Lommel also seem to be threatened. The American number […]
January 25, 2023
Polestar gives its Polestar 2 a severe update to the new model year 2024, including new engines and more powerful batteries. The single-motor variants are now rear-wheel drive, analogous to the electric drive system update for the Volvo models XC40 and C40. There’s one big difference: the Polestar models have more power than the Volvos. […]
January 24, 2023
The current generation of the Corvette stirs up the heritage bloodline in many ways. After moving the engine from front to rear, General Motors has now also pulled the covers from the first hybrid ever in the series: the E-Ray. Meet the cleanest, fastest, and most expensive Corvette of them all. It’s the Stealth mode […]
January 24, 2023
Public transport company De Lijn has ordered the first 17 electric tram buses for the Spartacus project in Limburg. The decision was made in May last year to shelve the almost 18-year-old plans for a tram connection between Hasselt and Maastricht and replace it by electric buses to be delivered now by Dutch-Belgian bus builder […]
January 24, 2023
The French start-up Fairbrics, a pioneer in the field, wants to capture the CO2 released by manufacturers to transform it while using molecular chemistry into polyester spools for the clothing industry. To that end, it will establish a factory in Antwerp, a pioneering project that should be up and running by mid-2024. The project is […]
January 24, 2023
Kia may have just revealed some of the EV9’s specs and pricing in a customer survey. The family SUV could be offered in five different trim levels, starting from 56 000 US dollars (51 500 euros) and with a range of up to 290 miles (464 km). The launch of the EV9 is scheduled for […]
January 24, 2023
The construction of the fourth Antwerp Scheldt tunnel started in Zeebrugge on Monday. COTU, the contractor consortium, will build eight concrete tunnel elements in the coming two years. By 2025, when the separate tunnel elements are ready, they will be shipped to Antwerp. In time, they will form the new Scheldt tunnel, an essential part […]
January 24, 2023
If we can rely on what battery manufacturers are predicting for the next four years, Europe can be self-sufficient in lithium-ion battery cells for its domestic EV production as soon as 2027, and end its reliance on China. That’s the conclusion of NGO Transport & Environment (T&E) after analyzing all recent announcements. That is if […]
January 24, 2023
There’s a small musical chair going on for the overall design heads inside the Volkswagen Group. As of the first of February, VW design chief Jozef Kaban will be replaced by Andreas Mindt, coming from Bentley. His post there will be taken by Tobias Sühlmann. A few weeks ago, brand designer Klaus Zycriora was replaced […]
January 23, 2023
At the Brussels Motor Show, the Japanese manufacturer Mazda had a world premiere, the MX-30 e-Skyactiv R-EV, a range extender version of their MX-30 BEV. On the sidelines, we talked to Martijn ten Brink, President and CEO of Mazda Europe. This relatively small car manufacturer has its own way of doing things. For Mazda, its […]
January 23, 2023
Californian start-up Aptera Motors has revealed the Launch Edition of its highly efficient solar car. Thanks to its solar array, it can recover up to 40 miles (64 km) of range per day. Production is set to start in late 2023, but Aptera still needs funding to build its vehicles. Aptera’s quest for ultimate efficiency […]
January 23, 2023
The project to run a self-driving electric shuttle bus at Brussels Airport has been called off. Nearly eight years after initial plans, the development of such a bus is proving too complex. The cancellation of the urban autonomous transport project in cooperation with about four Flemish cities is another setback for De Lijn in its […]
January 23, 2023
The 100th-anniversary edition of the Brussels Motor Show (BMS) welcomed some 270 000 public visitors in nine days. That’s considerably less than in the heydays before the pandemic, but it still makes it the most popular indoor event in Belgium. The organizers hoped that 300-350 000 people would have found their way to the halls […]
January 23, 2023
ElectroMobility Poland (EMP), Poland’s only car manufacturer created in 2016, has postponed the production of its first car under the new Izera brand for the second time until the end of 2025. The state-owned company, which made a technology deal in November 2022 with Chinese Geely for the underpinning of its car, confirmed this to […]
January 20, 2023
BMW Motorrad achieved the highest sales in its corporate history, with 202 895 motorcycles and scooters handed over to customers in 2022. This is an increase of +4,4 % compared to the previous year. By doing so, BMW Motorrad remains in first place in the global premium motorcycle and scooter segment. “I would like to […]
January 20, 2023
In 2022, car recycling organization Febelauto recuperated 120 tons of hybrid and electric vehicle batteries to be recycled. Three times more than the 37 tons of the previous year. “This year, we should arrive at about 400 tons because the volume is expected to triple each year,” explains Catherine Lenaerts, director of Febelauto. About 48% […]
January 20, 2023
The Flemish nationalist and conservative political party N-VA wants a maximum speed of 30 km/hour for cyclists on the cycle path in built-up areas. So says Flemish MP Marius Meremans. Speed pedelecs would still be allowed to drive faster but on the roadway. However, Mobility Minister Lydia Peeters (Open Vld) does not think it is […]
January 20, 2023
The supply shortage crisis keeps troubling carmakers, also in the new year. The all-electric ID. models from Volkswagen currently leave the factory without the option of a heat pump. It is unknown whether sister models from Seat and Skoda, using the same architecture, are affected. But it seems likely, as the Audi Q4 e-tron suffers […]
January 20, 2023
Belgian start-up Veton wants to conquer the world and a growing number of EV owners from its base in Antwerp by wrapping the classic EV-charge pole or wallbox in a sleek, fashionable design with the cable neatly hidden when not in use. As 85% of EV charging is done at home or work, the young […]
January 20, 2023
Vanwall, a former English Formula 1 racing team, is revived and has presented an electric compact production model to be built in Germany. The Vandervell stands out with its sporty look and performance and will be delivered in the third quarter of 2023 at a (hefty) price tag of around €150 000. Vanwall was a […]
January 19, 2023
After leaving the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) last year, Stellantis has just announced they will stop all European lobbying efforts. CEO Carlos Tavares made the decision as a way to be more proactive than reactive in terms of future mobility strategies. “We no longer have lobbyists. We do not negotiate anymore,” Tavares says. “We […]
January 19, 2023
Chinese SAIC daughter MG, the self-appointed heir to Brittain’s iconic sports car brand, has launched into hydrogen, showing the Euniq 7 FCEV at Auto Expo 2023 in Dehli, India. The 5,2-meter long MPV offering seating for seven and a range of 605 km (NEDC) is said to be a demonstration vehicle, as no plans to […]
January 19, 2023
DAF has finished its Eindhoven compound’s new assembly line for electric trucks. The DAF XD and XF Electric presented at IAA 2022 will start rolling off the line this spring. Eventually, DAF hopes to produce several thousand electric trucks annually at the facility. DAF started building the Electric Truck Assembly back in the summer of […]
January 19, 2023
German airline group Lufthansa is the only bidder to take a stake in Italian airline ITA Airways, the successor to Alitalia. This was announced by the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance on Wednesday evening, after the deadline. Earlier in the day, French-Dutch airline group Air France-KLM had announced that it would not submit a […]
January 19, 2023
VDL Bus & Coach has received an order of 193 electric buses from Dutch public transport company EBS, which will use these new-gen Citea buses in the region Zaanstreek-Waterland (the Netherlands). These buses will be built in Valkenswaard and in the new Belgian e-bus factory in Roeselare, which is opening soon. EBS was founded in […]
