October 09, 2023
Polestar, Geely’s ‘Scandinavian inspired’ BEV daughter, aims to reach profitability in 2025. This can only be achieved by increasing the number of deliveries. In the third quarter, the Swedish-Chinese brand achieved a 50% jump compared to Q3/2022. Polestar delivered around 13 900 electric cars to customers in the third quarter, 50,4% more than in the […]
October 06, 2023
If it were up to Brussels Mobility Minister Elke Van den Brandt (Groen), too-loud cars and motorbikes in the Brussels Region could be sent directly to a testing station for a technical inspection. According to her party colleague and MP Lotte Stoops, the effect of noise on our health is still too often underestimated. “Noise […]
October 06, 2023
It’s cute without being a genuine showstopper, compact and still reasonably spacious inside, quiet and luxurious, and blessed with more power than one usually needs. We’re talking about the Swedish-Chinese Zeekr X, the twin brother of the much anticipated smallest Volvo EV, the EX30. So we were curious to actually drive it on Swedish roads […]
October 06, 2023
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has announced today that its CEO, Torsten Müller-Ötvös, will retire on 30 November 2023. He will be succeeded by Chris Brownridge, currently CEO of BMW UK. With 14 years as CEO, the German leaves BMW Group’s British high luxury brand as its longest-serving CEO since Claude Johnson brought Charles Rolls and Henry […]
October 06, 2023
Skoda has updated its electric Enyaq iV, specifically the sporty RS version. The SUV now gets a boost in power from 299 to 340 hp, thanks to a revised and higher-output electric motor on the rear axle. The Czechs have also upgraded the energy management software, meaning that despite the power increase and the same […]
October 06, 2023
A loaded near-production prototype of the Mercedes-Benz eActros 600, Daimler Truck’s long-haul battery-electric truck, has completed a round trip from Stuttgart to South Tyrol and back on one charge. The distance of 530 km each way confirms Mercedes’ promised 500 km range for the model. The Mercedes-Benz eActros 600 is launching soon, with the world […]
October 06, 2023
Sales of new speed pedelecs fell 31,4% in Belgium in September compared to the same month last year. This is reported by sector federation Traxio. In September, 1 212 speed pedelecs were sold, compared to 1 767 in the same month last year. However, on the second-hand market for speed pedelecs, a clear increase of […]
October 06, 2023
The end of government subsidies for electric company cars is causing a significant slump in sales of EVs in Germany. Their market share in September has fallen from 32% to 14% one month earlier. Overall, the automotive market is regressing only slightly, but this year’s negative trend is a first. The Kraftfahrt Bundesamt (KBA) results […]
October 05, 2023
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is scrapping part of the HS2 high-speed rail line construction. At a Conservative Party conference, he announced to give up the link between Birmingham and Manchester. The 36 billion pounds it will release will be spent on “hundreds of new transport projects in the North and Midlands, across the country.” […]
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 05, 2023
The second-generation Skodia Kodiaq is a decisive step up. The car has become even bigger, carries premium looks, features hybrid technology for the first time, and introduces sustainable interior materials. Twinned to the recently unveiled Volkswagen Tiguan, the model paves the way for a more modern Skoda. The dimensions and styling make clear that Kodiaq […]
October 05, 2023
It’s a growing problem on fully booked short flights in Europe: passengers carrying (too much) hand luggage to be stowed in the airplane’s overhead bins as rules differ among airlines, and some of them charge extras. The European Parliament wants to end these confusing rules and urges to review the EU laws on aviation passenger […]
October 05, 2023
The Brussels Region is planning 1 200 new charging points for EVs next year. Brussels Energy and Environment Minister Alain Maron (Ecolo) has announced a public contract. Sixty of these charging points will be exclusively for car sharing. By 2035, the Brussels Region aims to have 22 000 publicly accessible charging points for electric cars. […]
October 05, 2023
As a key sponsor of the Paris Olympic Games next year, Toyota is deploying a fleet of zero-emission mobility solutions that must support athletes and auxiliary services. The aim is to reduce carbon emissions from transport at the Games by 50% compared to the previous edition in Tokyo, where the Japanese brand also attended as […]
October 04, 2023
Flemish Minister of the North Sea, Vincent Van Quickenborne (Open Vld), has granted an environmental permit for Princess Elisabeth Island, which that will be built off the Belgian coast in the coming years. That is what high-voltage grid operator Elia announced on Tuesday. According to Elia, obtaining a permit is crucial for constructing the artificial […]
October 04, 2023
Air France-KLM is buying into Scandinavian airline SAS. The Franco-Dutch airline group is acquiring 19,9% of Danish-Swedish SAS, which has been struggling for several years, for 144,5 million dollars. The deal also includes SAS’s exit from Star Alliance, the airline alliance that includes Germany’s Lufthansa (and its Belgian subsidiary Brussels Airlines) and US-based United Airlines. […]
October 04, 2023
According to Filip Rylant, spokesperson for mobility federation Traxio, second-hand car market growth cooled considerably in September after three months of double-digit growth. Interest in used cars remains high, and although the increase is moderate, the market is still developing favorably. The good news is that second-hand car availability is increasing, and prices are stabilizing. […]
October 04, 2023
Volvo Cars has signed a multi-year agreement with the Israeli developer of fast-charging technology StoreDot. The car brand will work with the latter’s experts to develop and test XFC cells. The first fruit of the collaboration is scheduled for next year. Storedot has been continuously working on its XFC cells (the abbreviation for ‘extreme fast […]
October 04, 2023
In a striking opinion piece, William Todts, Executive Director of the NGO Transport & Environment (T&E), points at the mess the German car industry has made these recent decades and the efforts from the European Union to tackle the problem. “Earlier this month, Ursula von der Leyen sent shockwaves through the European and Chinese car […]
October 03, 2023
Last week, under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the UK government announced a pushback to 2035 from its earlier defined net-zero policies from 2024 to 2030, in line with most EU countries like France, Germany, or Sweden. This mandate regulates the number of ICE cars and vans that can still be sold yearly until the sales […]
October 03, 2023
Omoda is the name of a new Chinese brand, part of the Chinese car manufacturer Chery Automobile. The brand will first be introduced in Belgium and Luxembourg at the beginning of 2024. The first car introduced is the Omoda 5, a fully electric SUV that will be sold at just under €40 000 for the […]
October 03, 2023
Antonio Filosa, a veteran executive within the Stellantis constellation, is taking over from Christian Meunier as head of Jeep. The new appointment must draw the brand from its negative spiral, as sales since the beginning of the year have dwindled further, even in its core market in the US. Despite acting as a niche player […]
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 […]
October 03, 2023
Tesla is losing a tailwind. While it beat analyst’s forecasts quarter after quarter, the growth was halted during Q3 of 2023, ending its dominant streak. With 435 059 cars delivered, the company shifted 31 081 cars less than the previous quarter. Tesla points to its remanufacturing procedure as an explanation. We had grown accustomed to […]
October 03, 2023
Thanks to ‘Smartdrop’, an intelligent last-mile calculation tool to determine the impact of online parcel deliveries, consumers can choose the most sustainable delivery option. It was developed by the Belgian trade federation Comeos and the Brussels University’s research group VUB Mobilise. The tool considers several factors associated with online purchases: CO2 emissions, traffic congestion, air […]
October 03, 2023
In Belgium and Luxembourg, 38 906 new cars were registered in September, 25,4% more than in September last year. For the first three quarters of the year, the increase was 33,2% compared to last year, totaling 374 848 newly registered cars. In the Netherlands and France, we see the same tendencies but less pronounced. The […]
October 02, 2023
Jochen De Smet is the current president of EV Belgium, a known facilitator of the energy transition. Being one of the speakers at Mobia’s Mobility Stakeholders Day, he stressed that the technology of this transition is not the problem, but the organization of it, especially the price transparency for the customer. “Europe has been working […]
October 02, 2023
The Antwerp pre-subway will close for four months. For all those months, there will be no tram connection between the left and right banks of the river Scheldt. Public transport company De Lijn will completely close part of Antwerp’s pre-subway tubes in 2026 to carry out thorough renovation works. “By completely closing the tubes, we […]
October 02, 2023
Nikola has celebrated the commercial launch of its hydrogen fuel cell electric truck at its manufacturing facility in Arizona. The trucks are now ready to be built for customers, with Nikola also supplying the hydrogen refueling ecosystem. After a few tumultuous months, with the recall of all of its battery-electric Tre trucks and the separation […]
October 02, 2023
Belgian dredging and offshore energy giant Jan De Nul has ordered the world’s biggest cable-laying vessel to be built, with a carrying capacity of 28 000 tons and capable of embedding power cables in the ocean floor some 3 000 meters deep. The new ship, to be delivered in 2026, will carry the name of […]
October 02, 2023
A small roadster with fifties styling and an electric drive is proposed on the market for a few months. The origin is Dutch, and the design inspiration is British, but the Porsche 356 reminiscence is not far away. Meet the Carice TC2. “With the Carice TC2, we want to create art on wheels,” Niels van […]
October 02, 2023
The federal government will increase the bicycle allowance for those who commute by bicycle from 0,27 euros to 0,35 euros per kilometer. In addition to the increase, there will be an annual ceiling for the tax exemption of 2 500 euros per year. According to figures from HR service provider SD Worx, almost one in […]
October 02, 2023
Elia, the transmission system operator of Belgium’s high-voltage grid, has reached an agreement with Flemish Energy Minister Zuhal Demir (N-VA) on increased compensations for residents living near Ventilus. That is the future high-voltage line that will bring electricity from offshore wind farms to Belgium and beyond. West Flanders mayors of the villages involved are reacting […]
September 29, 2023
No card, less hassle. The Kia EV9 is joining the list of models compatible with Plug&Charge. The convenience automatically recognizes the car through its VIN and facilitates the charging and billing. After the EV9, more electric Kia models will join the program. For EV9, Plug&Charge will be available from the start, and for the other […]
September 29, 2023
Belgian company CMB.TECH is building Africa’s first public filling station in Namibia with on-site green hydrogen production. The site in Walvis Bay uses solar energy to make the hydrogen. Its strategic location should provide direct access to major shipping routes. “Our facility will supply hydrogen to trucks, ships, and railway applications,” the company says. The […]
September 29, 2023
German carmaker BMW announced it is investing an extra €100 million in its Innovation Park Wackersdorf campus near Regensburg to set up a new battery testing center that will be integrated into the existing buildings. The 55-hectare campus built in the 1980s was initially intended as a nuclear reprocessing facility. BMW has located its cockpit […]
September 29, 2023
Irish low-cost airline Ryanair is forced to cancel a series of flights during the upcoming winter season due to delivery delays of new aircraft by US aircraft manufacturer Boeing. At Brussels Charleroi Airport, Ryanair will station three planes less than planned, canceling up to 12 flights daily as no spare planes are available. A few […]
September 29, 2023
Daimler Truck announced with some pride it had a prototype of its Mercedes-Benz fuel cell truck GenH2 accomplish a journey of 1 047 km on hydrogen with only one filling session. The truck maker says this is another milestone within its dual-track strategy with hydrogen and battery-powered vehicles. The truck completed the run fully loaded […]
September 29, 2023
Swedish battery cell manufacturer Northvolt has chosen a site on the coast of Montreal to construct its first North American Gigafactory. The company will invest five billion euros in the region. The plans were unveiled in May of this year, but the company was yet to make a final choice between the US and Canada. […]
September 29, 2023
Belgian retail group Colruyt will roll out 10 000 new charging stations at its own network of supermarkets and other public venues like hospitals and shopping centers. It will combine ‘slow’ 10 to 20 kW AC chargers and ‘fast’ DC chargers up to 150 kW. Those fast-chargers installed by energy daughter DATS 24 will allow […]
September 28, 2023
Chinese state-owned carmaker Chery Automobile is coming to Germany in 2024 with three brands, offering a mix of models, price points, and even drive types, with both ICE and EV cars on offer. Should the launch succeed, a local production site is also considered. The report comes from the German business magazine WirtschaftsWoche, which says […]
September 28, 2023
The Belgian government and the government of the Brussels Capital Region, together with the Port of Brussels, railway network manager Infrabel, and landowner SFPIM Real Estate, have agreed to reconnect the Port of Brussels and its container terminal to the railway network. Planning permission has just been granted for this. By June 2024, the connection […]
September 28, 2023
For several months now, the Antwerp Waterbus has stopped its 8 a.m. shuttle service to from Kruibeke to Antwerp, causing a lot of resentment among commuters. By canceling the 08:10 a.m. ferry, people are forced to take the early-morning 07:40 a.m. boat, but sometimes, the ferry is overcrowded, and passengers cannot board. That is why […]
September 28, 2023
The German €300 million subsidy pot of the government, providing up to €10 200 for installing an EV wallbox in combination with solar panels and a backup battery, was exhausted in less than one day, the KfW Development Bank reported. The proposed subsidy was offered for private owners of an existing electric vehicle or those […]
September 28, 2023
BMW Group has extended the contract with CEO Oliver Zipse at his supervisory board meeting ahead of schedule by another two years until summer 2026. What will happen after that remains to be seen, but there is already speculation about potential successors. Norbert Reithofer, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of BMW AG, said: “Oliver Zipse […]
September 28, 2023
Demand for electric vehicles is decreasing in South Korea due to a slowing economy and is forcing local manufacturers Hyundai and Kia to cut the prices of their electric models. This comes after the government decided to expand its subsidy to more expensive models. Whereas electric vehicles continue to become more popular in Europe due […]
September 28, 2023
Last Monday, the 27 EU member states substantially softened the Commission’s proposition for new Euro 7 emissions regulations by 2025. Led by France and Italy (amongst others), the member states feared that this would cost the EU car industry too much and even retard investments in electrification. The member states are hereby responding to the […]
September 28, 2023
Honda is racking up a series of novelties and world premieres for the upcoming Japan Mobility Show. It has already unveiled pictures of two small city cars in a preview. The Sustaina-C represents the company’s vision of circularity, while the smaller CI-MEV is an urban last-mile car with enhanced automated driving. The Sustaina-C looks like […]
September 28, 2023
Dutch State Secretary for Infrastructure Viviane Heijnen has put some €125 million aside to subsidize the building of new hydrogen tank stations with an adjoining fleet of 10 to 15 hydrogen-driven trucks to ensure profitability. An attempt to solve the eternal chicken-and-egg problem by forcing the transport and energy sectors to shake hands. The new […]
September 28, 2023
Nissan’s plan to launch only electric cars and hybrids in Europe from 2023 lasted only a short time. From now on, the Japanese want to introduce only pure electric vehicles so that the last hybrid will be sold by 2030. According to the new plan, Nissan wants to sell only fully electric cars in Europe […]
September 27, 2023
British airplane engine expert Rolls-Royce says it has proven a critical engine technology that marks a significant step in enabling hydrogen as an aviation fuel. “Tests on a full annular combustor of a Pearl 700 engine at DLR in Cologne running on 100% hydrogen have proven the fuel can be combusted at conditions that represent […]
September 27, 2023
At the behest of Flemish Mobility Minister Lydia Peeters (Open Vld), public transport company De Lijn will skip two indexations of ticket prices. De Lijn needs to see how to reconcile this in its budget with increasing costs. Business newspaper De Tijd reports this. The news comes just when the Flemish government is facing criticism […]
September 27, 2023
Belgium will launch a call for projects worth 10 million euros next month to support the import of green hydrogen into ports. Energy Minister Tinne Van der Straeten (Groen) reports this. Belgium has ambitious plans for hydrogen. Besides making the country a leader in hydrogen technologies, Belgium also wants to be an import and transit […]
September 27, 2023
After the all-electric i5 and the mild-hybrid versions unveiled at launch, the new BMW 5 Series Sedan range is now completed with two plug-in hybrid versions. The 530e combines a 4-cylinder with an 184-hp electric motor to produce 299 hp, while the 550e xDrive uses a 3,0-litre straight-six to bump the output to 489 hp. […]
September 27, 2023
Limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius will only be achievable with a rapid acceleration of climate protection efforts and international cooperation. The International Energy Agency (IEA) stated that in its new ‘Net Zero Roadmap’ edition. If climate protection measures are not accelerated and implemented as planned by 2030, massive reliance will have to be […]
September 27, 2023
The widely spread ANPR cameras along Flemish roads in Belgium have caught 10 714 car drivers in traffic who didn’t pay the yearly road tax in 2022. They got an invoice for immediate payment and an additional €116 fine. Another 384 vehicles were towed away. That filled the Flemish government’s kitty with 5,4 million euros. […]
September 27, 2023
The Flemish government has (re-)installed a premium of €5 000 to purchase a new battery electric vehicle (BEV). For a second-hand one, there’s a subsidy of €3 000. There’s a significant restriction, however: the purchasing price of the BEV has to be less than €40 000, severely reducing the choice of electric cars on offer. […]
September 26, 2023
Austrian Airlines, a subsidiary of Germany’s Lufthansa, can no longer advertise that flying can be “CO2 neutral”. An Austrian court has ruled that. In turn, Carsten Spohr, Lufthansa’s CEO, has hinted that his airline would have to consume half of Germany’s electricity production for its entire fleet to fly on e-fuels. According to the French […]
September 26, 2023
Almost 2 800 residents of the Lower Bavarian municipality of Straßkirchen were called upon in a referendum to vote on BMW’s planned battery assembly in the village. The result was a clearer ‘yes’ than previously thought. A clear majority of Straßkirchen residents voted in favor of building the new BMW Group facility. With over 75% […]
September 26, 2023
Dongfeng Honda, a joint venture between these Chinese and Japanese brands, has announced the creation of a whole new brand for the Chinese market. Lingxi has been unveiled at a special event showcasing the brand’s latest concept car, the Lingxi L. This study announces a range of new EVs, including a sedan, based on an […]
