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 This forms the completion of a major operation in which 368 outdated signal boxes were replaced by ten modern counterparts.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 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 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
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
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 […]
January 19, 2023
Educam, the Belgian knowledge and training center for the automotive sector, wants to prepare the automotive industry for the advent of hydrogen vehicles. The organization, therefore, launched a brand new certification and training program focused on hydrogen-powered vehicles. The training will be given in Flanders and Wallonia. In addition, the organization has invested in hydrogen-ready […]
January 19, 2023
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted the Belgian Punch Group a €40 million finance contract for further developing hydrogen propulsion systems, like fuel cells and the H2 burning engine, as an environmentally friendly successor for the diesel engine. The investments will be made mainly at the company’s headquarters in Turin (Italy), Punch Group says, […]
January 18, 2023
At the Brussels Motor Show, we met Jon Williams, European Vice-President and General Manager of Ford Blue, the ICE part of Ford Europe’s business. He talked about the different specialisms inside Ford Motor Company now. “Recently, we’ve made clear that electrification and sustainability are the main priorities for our company, certainly in Europe,” Williams started. […]
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. […]
January 18, 2023
Xpeng is steadfastly forging its road into the European market. The Chinese EV maker has announced that it will open four service and delivery centers across Europe in 2023 as part of its expansion plans. The centers will be opened during the first half of the year in the four markets where the brand operates. […]
January 18, 2023
At the Delhi Auto Show 2023, Suzuki unveiled the EVx, a concept car announcing the brand’s first all-electric SUV. The first specs seem to point to in-house development. Though the unveiling took place in India, the brand intends to sell it worldwide. “Strong 4×4 DNA with the advanced features of the latest BEVs.” Those words […]
January 18, 2023
Belgian SMEs, companies of up to 250 employees, invest more rapidly in ‘green’ car fleets. In 2022, one in eight new commercial vehicles was fully electric. Most company cars (80%) are younger than five years, and since 2021, there are more new hybrid gasoline cars than diesel cars. The largest part of newly registered company […]
January 18, 2023
Volvo has presented its Chinese roadmap for 2023 during a press conference, revealing three new electric models coming this year. Next to a more luxurious version of the EX90 and the compact EX30 SUV, a yet-to-be-announced MPV is shown in a slideshow. And it should have some Zeekr DNA. Last year, Zeekr launched its luxury […]
January 18, 2023
Britishvolt, the UK’s hope of constructing a 30 GWh Gigafactory in Blyth, in the northeast of England, is going belly-up as attempts to find last-minute investors failed. The startup collapsed into administration on Tuesday, and most of the 232 employees were made redundant immediately. Britishvolt had asked the government last year for an advance payment […]
January 18, 2023
In December 2022, new car registrations in the EU expanded by 12,8%, marking the fifth consecutive month of growth this year. However, in 2022, the European Union passenger car market contracted by 4,6%, mainly due to component shortages in the first half of the year. Although the market improved from August to December 2022, cumulative […]
January 17, 2023
As part of a new package of product updates, Volvo has improved both the range (WLTP) and charging for the XC40 Recharge and C40 Recharge, increasing range by as much as 60 kilometers on some variants. Furthermore, three new powertrains are offered on the C40 Recharge and XC40 Recharge. These include two rear-wheel-drive variants – […]
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, […]
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 […]
January 17, 2023
Antwerp Airport reopened its connection with London on Monday. Luxembourg-based airline Luxair is responsible for the link to London City Airport. In the first phase, they will fly to the British capital four times a week. Although flying is climate-friendly compared to before, traveling by Eurostar remains a good deal less polluting, even if the […]
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 […]
January 17, 2023
With EV and battery technology gradually lowering in cost, more manufacturers are introducing cheap electric city cars. For example, the Chinese manufacturer BYD, the fourth largest EV company in the world, is set to introduce the Seagull, a new electric city car, as shown by Chinese regulatory filings. The Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information […]
January 17, 2023
Electrification and the swing toward SUVs are making their mark on the scales of the Belgian car fleet. On average, cars now weigh 10% more than three years ago, according to research by Energyville. According to the organization, the weight penalty of both trends is terrible news for safety and CO2 goals. Energyville spots two […]
January 17, 2023
Last week, BMW Group CEO Oliver Zipse previewed some of the technology on its ‘Neue Klasse’ EV platform at the CES in Las Vegas. He was also very outspoken regarding the group’s future in the EV market. Zipse boldly said that BMW’s next wave of EVs will be the industry benchmark in range, charging speeds, […]
January 17, 2023
After Colruyt started experimenting with an Estonian delivery robot in November, French supermarket chain Carrefour is setting up a pilot in the business park Corporate Village in Zaventem near Brussels with a Turkish-branded autonomous robot. After the first test panel of twenty people, everybody in the Corporate Village will be able, starting next week, to […]
January 16, 2023
Facing stiff opposition from customers and criticism in its home country after lowering its prices in China twice in three months, Tesla has decided to make the price cut global. Depending on the model and the region a discount of up to 20% is now on the table in a bid to keep output at […]
