April 17, 2025
At the New York International Auto Show, the World Car of the Year and other winners in different categories were revealed. The overall winner is the Kia EV3, chosen by 96 international automotive journalists from 30 countries out of 52 contenders. This is Kia’s second consecutive World Car of the Year win and the third […]
April 17, 2025
American ride-hailing platform Lyft is buying the taxi app FreeNow from German luxury car brands BMW and Mercedes-Benz. The Uber competitor is paying 175 million euros for this and wants to use it as a lever to enter Europe under its own name. Lyft is primarily a ride-hailing platform that connects passengers with drivers through […]
April 17, 2025
Leapmotor’s upcoming saloon, the B01, has been unveiled through its filing in China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s (MIIT) latest catalog. It is based on the B10 compact SUV and will get a similarly low price in China, but a European debut is not promised. Leapmotor is one of the more successful Chinese new-energy […]
April 17, 2025
China, a long time forerunner in autonomous driving features tested on public roads, is tightening the screws on that technology after an accident that shocked the nation. A dramatic accident in which three young female students were killed in a Xiaomi SU7 sedan that caught fire in March, apparently, was the last straw. Carmakers are […]
April 17, 2025
According to data from the sector federation, Febiac, and the government services, 120,940 new cars were registered during the first quarter of 2025, a decrease of 10.5% compared to 2024. We already showed these results earlier; now is the time to get into the details about who buys what. In 2023 and 2024, Belgium had […]
April 16, 2025
The Geely Panda Mini, the Chinese manufacturer’s cheapest electric vehicle, has been updated for 2025 with new exterior and interior styling. The two-seat microcar features a CLTC range of 210 km and is available in its domestic market from just €6,000. Geely, the parent company of several European car brands such as Volvo, Lotus, Polestar, […]
April 16, 2025
Chinese electric car manufacturer Xpeng has unveiled its updated X9 for 2025, a luxury electric minivan with advanced comfort and driver assistance functions. The model has been on sale in China since 2024 but is now going international, with a European launch expected in the second half of 2025. Xpeng is already present in Europe, […]
April 16, 2025
2024 was disappointing for the Stellantis Group, President John Elkann told the annual shareholders meeting in Amsterdam on Tuesday, adding that a new CEO to replace Carlos Tavares, who quit in December, will be named by the middle of this year. The remuneration of the former CEO for 2024 also caused some turmoil. “I would […]
April 16, 2025
As we wrote yesterday, the Zeekr 7X is launched in Europe as a trump card in the mid-size SUV segment. In China, the Geely daughter will also deliver this car’s shooting brake variant on the same 800V platform, the 007 GT, starting April 20th. In Europe, that one will be named simply Zeekr 7GT. Geely […]
April 16, 2025
Rho Motion, a leading EV research house, revealed that 1.7 million electric vehicles were sold globally in March 2025, with 4.1 million sold in Q1 2025. The EV market grew by 29% in March 2025 compared to March 2024 and increased by 40% compared to February 2025. For Q1 overall, the growth rate was also […]
April 15, 2025
Dongfeng has launched a new, affordable plug-in hybrid (PHEV) SUV in its home market of China: the Aeolus L7. It is available for less than €11,500 and features an official total driving range of up to 1,500 km, but the Chinese manufacturer has smashed the on-paper performance by achieving over 2,200 km in a real-world […]
April 15, 2025
Globally, 2024 was the warmest year on record and the first with an average temperature exceeding 1.5°C above the pre‑industrial level. The last ten years have been the warmest ten years on record. This is stated in the Copernicus European State of the Climate Summary 2024, compiled by the European climate service Copernicus and the […]
April 15, 2025
Energy company Engie has started constructing a solar park on its site in Rodenhuize, the peninsula in the port of Ghent that already houses three wind turbines and an ultra-fast charging station for EVs. Starting this summer, the installation will produce about 5.7 million kilowatt-hours of green electricity annually, enough for the average consumption of […]
April 15, 2025
MAN launched battery production at its Nuremberg (Germany) site on Friday, April 11th. The company also announced an extra investment in battery and diesel engine production to secure the factory’s long-term future and prepare for the launch of the series production of its trucks in June. After investing around €100 million in the Nuremberg production […]
April 15, 2025
It’s compact at 4,7 meters in length and sizeable, especially on the inside. It’s heavy with its 2.5 tonnes and yet still lightfooted, with its two electric motors offering 470 kW or 630 hp and acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds. Just what the average European family man needs for his weekday […]
April 15, 2025
About 320,000 Belgians who bought a car with ‘fraud software’ from the VW Group can finally claim indemnification. Nine years after the court case started, an agreement exists between the Belgian consumer organization TestAankoop/TestAchats and Volkswagen. In those nine years, Volkswagen finally admitted that it had sold some 11 million diesel cars with engine type […]
April 15, 2025
The Belgian federal government gave hybrid cars more breathing space in its Easter agreement. The authorities now think that a battery electric car is not yet the right solution for everyone and are providing more room to hybrids. Organisations that promote EVs or environmental associations see the new rules as a serious step back. The […]
April 14, 2025
Swedish truck manufacturer Scania has acquired Northvolt’s Systems Industrial Division, the bankrupt battery manufacturer’s heavy industry and off-road battery systems division. The 260 employees based in Sweden will transfer to Scania’s Power Solutions division, which develops powertrains for industrial, marine, and power generation purposes. Northvolt, the Swedish battery manufacturer once hailed as Europe’s answer to […]
April 14, 2025
As already known, the Belgian railroad company NMBS/SNCB must save over 675 million euros from the new government. But now the business newspaper L’Echo/De Tijd is also publishing more detailed figures on what those savings must look like year by year. This year, the railroads must save 50 million euros from the De Wever government. […]
April 14, 2025
The member states of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the maritime branch of the United Nations, reached an agreement on Friday on greening shipping. The deal involves a standard to limit the use of fossil fuels and a price mechanism for companies that do not meet the imposed standards. Ships will have to emit 30 […]
April 14, 2025
At the Brussels Motor Show in January, Mazda showed the all-new Mazda 6e, the European version of the EZ-6, the already existing Chinese model developed in cooperation with Chinese car manufacturer Changan and based on the Changan Deepal SL03. The Japanese carmaker will perform the same exercise for its first entirely electric full-size SUV. With […]
April 14, 2025
In a dealer memo published by several German media, Mercedes-Benz has announced the early retirement of its small van class. The Citan, T-Class, and their electric counterparts will cease production in Q2 2026, ending Mercedes’ involvement in the genre and severing the last ties with Renault. The Mercedes Citan was first introduced in 2012 as […]
April 14, 2025
Californian EV maker Lucid Motors announced last Friday it has “reached an agreement to acquire select facilities and assets in Arizona previously belonging to Nikola Corporation, subject to approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.” But that doesn’t mean it takes over the business: “The transaction does not include the acquisition […]
April 14, 2025
In a radiation protection study commissioned by the German Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMUV), all electric cars analyzed complied with the recommendations for protection against the health effects of magnetic fields. According to the researchers, people are not generally exposed to stronger magnetic fields in […]
April 13, 2025
A European research project has unveiled a new battery design that could help electric vehicles become more sustainable, easier to recycle, and cheaper to repair. The battery, developed under the EU-funded Marbel project and backed by Stellantis, has been created with circular economy principles in mind. As such, it also aims at finding a second […]
April 11, 2025
The Volkswagen Group increased its global BEV deliveries by 59% to 216,800 vehicles (commercial vehicles and buses/trucks included) in the first quarter compared to Q1 2024. Polestar’s Q1 sales were up 76% compared to last year. For the Volkswagen Group, things went very well in Europe and the US, but not in China. We can […]
April 11, 2025
The Belgian public railroad company NMBS/SNCB is introducing a flexible parking subscription, an initiative that aims to respond mainly to commuters who regularly work from home and thus do not take the train to work every day. With this, NMBS/SNCB wants to capitalize on the success of telecommuting, which is now well established in the […]
April 11, 2025
Will the EU’s punitive tariffs on Chinese EVs soon end? The European Union and China have opened formal talks on setting minimum prices for Chinese electric vehicles sold in Europe as a potential replacement. Both sides confirmed the development in negotiations, signaling a possible escape route from the escalating trade dispute that has shaken the […]
April 11, 2025
The BMW Group delivered 109,516 all-electric cars in the first quarter, an increase of 32.4% and an 18.7% share of total deliveries. Electric car sales increased in Europe in particular. And more than one in three vehicles delivered by the Mini brand was purely electric. Across all drive types, the BMW, Mini, and Rolls-Royce brands […]
April 11, 2025
Renault is on a winning streak, with good results and increasing brand recognition. The French carmaker is setting a high tempo to keep up the good work. A first update to the Scenic E-Tech Electric, which debuted only one year ago, serves as proof. The electric family SUV receives a raft of minor upgrades, from […]
April 10, 2025
Trade union FIM CISL said Tuesday that Stellantis Group’s production in Italy has worsened and is now at its lowest level since 1956. It said Stellantis production worsened significantly in the first three months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, which had already been “a black year.” Minus 36% Some 109,900 units […]
April 10, 2025
On Wednesday, Belgian maritime contractor Deme announced that it has agreed to acquire Havfram, a Norwegian company that provides transport and installation services for offshore wind farms. The deal is worth approximately 900 million euros and is expected to be completed by the end of April 2025. Oslo-based Havfram owns and operates vessels for installing […]
April 10, 2025
The EU has new legislation that is ready to reduce plastic pollution in the environment. For example, companies that produce or transport small plastic pellets will face stricter regulations. The rules will apply to all companies that handle more than five tons of plastic pellets annually within the EU. They will also cover companies using […]
April 10, 2025
The E-Rally Ardenne Roads, a regularity rally for standard series production electric vehicles, is coming up again in May. To incentivize Belgians to participate in the rally, title sponsor Volkswagen offers the best Belgian team the opportunity to enter the E-Rallye Monte Carlo in October. The Belgian Ardennes have a history of hosting regularity rallies, […]
April 10, 2025
BYD’s newest flagship models, the Han L and Tang L, have gone on sale in China for significantly cheaper than initially presumed. Both models are built on the Chinese manufacturer’s latest ‘Super e’ platform, which promises megawatt charging (1,000 kW) to recover up to 400 km of range in just 5 minutes. Even the fastest-charging […]
April 10, 2025
Belgian private drivers are avoiding electric vehicles. They cite cost, lack of infrastructure, and doubts about sustainability, even as the country embraces broader changes in mobility trends. According to the 2025 Mobility Barometer by insurer Europ Assistance, 62 percent of respondents say their next car won’t be electric, a 10 percent increase from last year. […]
April 10, 2025
A new study from the NGO Transport & Environment (T&E) shows significant irregularities in the reported consumption of palm residues used in renewable diesel (HVO) being sold by oil majors. A new T&E study shows that a key ingredient in the ‘renewable diesel’ sold in Europe is likely fraudulent. Nearly twice as much palm oil […]
April 10, 2025
CATL, the world’s biggest battery maker for the last decade, is looking to take a controlling stake in NIO Power, the battery swapping and fast-charging business of Chinese premium EV maker NIO. CATL will not comment, but Reuters quotes four anonymous sources to back up the story. Last month, news broke that NIO, known for […]
April 09, 2025
Sortbat, a subsidiary of Bebat, a Belgian non-profit association that processes used batteries, is acquiring the Norwegian Høyenergi. Together, they want to strengthen Belgium and Norway’s position in managing large batteries, including those of electric vehicles, maritime applications, and energy storage systems. This acquisition anticipates the increasing amount of end-of-life batteries in Europe. The global […]
April 09, 2025
Not a week goes by now, so to speak, without a new competitor to the Eurostar being announced. Now, the Italian rail group Ferrovie dello Stato also wants to run high-speed trains between London and Paris via the Channel Tunnel by 2029. It has planned an investment of one billion euros for this purpose. It […]
April 09, 2025
The Jacky Perrenot Group, one of the most prominent French transporters with over 10,000 employees, received France’s first electric MAN eTGX. The group has ordered 40 electric trucks from MAN and has the option to expand the fleet to 100 tractor and chassis units. MAN unveiled its long-range electric truck, eTGX, at the end of […]
April 09, 2025
The Auditor of the Council of State advises to suspend the decision of Belgian public railroad company NMBS/SNCB on the order of new trains. This is what the public broadcaster VRT writes on its website. NMBS/SNCB chose Spanish company CAF as the preferred bidder to build hundreds of new trains, an order worth 3.4 billion […]
April 09, 2025
Chinese automakers posted a significant sales gain in Europe this February, shrugging off mounting trade pressure from the European Union. Leaning into plug-in hybrids has helped them offset the punitive EU tariffs. BYD, in particular, is leading the charge — topping domestic sales, previewing record-breaking profits, and deepening its presence in key European markets. The […]
April 09, 2025
What kind of drivetrain will we choose for our next car? Plain-old gasoline, hybrid, or electric? It’s often a question about actual needs, economics, and practicality, which most families wrestle with. In reality, 44% of family drivers have no idea of their mobility profile, and a third don’t even know how much their current car […]
April 09, 2025
Porsche significantly increased the proportion of electrified vehicles sold in the first quarter of 2025: 71,470 vehicles (-8%) were handed over to customers worldwide between January and March, 38.5 percent of which were electrified, and more than 25 percent fully electric. Porsche states these electrified vehicles are divided into 25.9% battery-electric cars and 12.6% plug-in […]
April 08, 2025
Mercedes-Benz Trucks’ long-running construction truck, the Arocs, has been electrified for the first time. The Mercedes eArocs 400 debuted at Bauma 2025, the largest construction trade fair in the world, in Munich from April 7th to 15th this year. The Mercedes Arocs was first introduced in 2013 as a heavy-duty construction truck, succeeding the Axor. […]
April 08, 2025
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government has confirmed that hybrid vehicles will remain on sale in the UK until 2035 to mitigate the Trump tariffs and shield British automakers from their ripple effects. This is an extension of the previous 2030 ban, which Starmer reinforced as he took office. The ban on new gasoline and diesel […]
April 08, 2025
According to the International Energy Agency’s latest report, transport in Germany is a significant obstacle to the country’s green energy transition, still accounting for 95% of all transport emissions. IEA experts identified transport as “the largest emitting sector in Germany” and thus a key area for additional focus. The IEA report highlights how Germany has […]
April 08, 2025
Urban focus, one seat, and no emissions from a battery driveline are the main features of the Mibot from KG Motors. This Japanese start-up wants to reinvent electric mobility by lifting the kei car into a new era. The dimensions are so small that the vehicle fits into a panel van. Japan must cope with […]
April 08, 2025
Ombudsrail, the Belgian ombudsman service for rail passengers, was contacted 4,154 times last year, up 7.6% from 2023. On that basis, 1,089 files were opened, accounting for 2,344 complaints – one file can contain several complaints. Seven out of ten complaints in this regard were filed in Dutch. Together with even older complaints, just over […]
April 08, 2025
Volvo Construction Equipment, a sister brand of Volvo Trucks, has started selling the improved PU500, a 500 kWh mobile charging unit for electric construction sites without grid access. The giant battery bank can also be used for festivals, disaster sites, or as a buffer battery to profit from off-peak energy prices. While battery banks with […]
April 07, 2025
This year, Limburg celebrates the 30th anniversary of the cycle route network—one of the province’s main attractions. Recent research by Visit Limburg confirms that cycling in Limburg is popular not only with the Limburgers themselves but also with cyclists from far beyond the provincial borders. Visit Limburg’s study shows that 90% of cyclists are delighted […]
April 07, 2025
French train builder Alstom is planning a significant expansion in France. The company plans to invest 150 million euros and recruit at least 1,000 people this year. The investments and hiring are coming to meet the increased demand for high-speed trains. The plan is to start a new production line at Alstom’s Valenciennes plant. At […]
April 07, 2025
Kia Corporation and LG Electronics announced a partnership to collaborate on implementing mobility space solutions based on the PBV (Platform Beyond Vehicle) technology. The companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Kia pavilion at the 2025 Seoul Mobility Show. They unveiled concept models for mobile work and recreational spaces incorporating advanced home appliances […]
April 07, 2025
Ryder, a Florida-based transportation and truck rental company with around 260,000 vehicles in its fleet, has asked California’s Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC) for another extension regarding the subsidies for its fleet of Tesla Semis. The reason? Tesla is still unable to deliver the trucks and is charging much more than promised. […]
April 07, 2025
Belgian high-voltage grid operator Elia is calling for vigilance over solar overproduction. Due to the sunny spring and the large number of solar panels installed, an overproduction could lead to negative prices and a frequency increase, threatening blackouts. Unlike last year, when this phenomenon occurred mainly in the summer, Elia notes that the risk is […]
April 07, 2025
Tesla’s executive ranks continue to thin as David Lau, Vice President of Software Engineering and a key figure behind the company’s vehicle software platform, cloud services, and manufacturing systems, is stepping down. He served nearly 13 years with the automaker. Lau’s departure, first reported by Bloomberg, adds to a growing list of long-tenured leaders leaving […]
April 07, 2025
According to charging station operator MobilityPlus, a quarter of all employees with an electric car hardly ever charge their company car at home. Nevertheless, employees with electric company cars usually have a charging station at home. But most fear that charging at home will drive up their energy bill. MobilityPlus discovered that 26 percent of […]
April 07, 2025
In March 2025, 40,184 new passenger cars were registered –10% fewer than in the same month last year. The decline continued throughout the first quarter, from -13% in January to -8.1% in February. It is striking that the share of private buyers in the first quarter was approximately 10% higher than last year, possibly due […]
April 07, 2025
Mazda has officially launched export production of the Mazda 6e, its China-built electric sedan aimed at global markets, including Europe and Southeast Asia. The first units rolled off the production line at the Changan Mazda plant in Nanjing last week. It signals the company’s renewed push into the international EV market, as the carmaker hasn’t […]
