September 05, 2024
It sways the news headlines: the European car industry is facing one of the most challenging times in its 130-year history: reinventing itself in the much-needed energy transition while facing cutthroat competition from China. Still, EU car production jumped in 2023, nearing 15 million vehicles—nearly two million more than the previous year. China is the […]
September 04, 2024
Kia has unveiled the EV3, a new compact SUV with electric drive. The 4.30-meter-long model adopts many elements of the large EV9 inside and out; the platform is essentially the same. In Belgium, only the long-range version was available in August, starting at a special price of €39,090 (instead of 41,190) to be eligible for […]
September 04, 2024
Nearly two years after its unveiling, the Volvo EX90 is starting to reach customers. Software delays postponed the launch of the electric 7-seater SUV by around a year. The first United States and Europe customers are getting their cars this month, with deliveries ramping up between Q4 2024 and Q1 2025. The Volvo EX90 is […]
September 04, 2024
After an intense period with many used car registrations in July, August saw a slight dip with -4.0%. Still, the provisional annual total is heading toward half a million second-hand car registrations (490,296 units), almost 60,000 more than two years ago. Gradually, more electrified used cars are offered, as 12.7% of registered vehicles are chargeable. […]
September 04, 2024
In China, the fierce price war among the big car manufacturers raves on, with Geely throwing in a new weapon, the Geome Xingyan EV, for city dwellers at a bottom price of around 80,000 yuan or 10,170 euros. It’s targeted directly against BYD, which beefed up its popular Dolphin at unchanged prices starting at 99,800 […]
September 04, 2024
As the VW Group will miss its savings targets by several billion euros, the top management is planning further cuts. For the first time in its 87 years of existence, possible plant closures and redundancies are being considered, also in Germany. Meanwhile, VW’s daughter Audi announced that the Audi Brussels plant would not produce a […]
September 03, 2024
While the rest of Europe reports discouraging figures, Norway continues to set new benchmarks in electric vehicle adoption. In August, more than 94 percent of all new passenger cars registered were electric, a new record for the world’s forerunner in the EV transition. “This looks very promising to reach 100% as of January,” reacted secretary […]
September 03, 2024
According to the data of the sector federation, Febiac, 29,333 cars were registered in Belgium and Luxembourg in August 2024, a regress of -20,3% compared to the same month last year. Cumulated over the previous eight months, this means a decrease of 3.3% overall. It is noticeable that the segment of individual buyers is still […]
August 30, 2024
Polestar, the electric car brand of Geely and Volvo, announced the appointment of Michael Lohscheller as its new CEO. In October, he will succeed long-term CEO Thomas Ingenlath, who has held the position since 2017. The new appointment comes shortly after another significant change at the top of the board. On on October 1st, Lohscheller […]
August 30, 2024
It’s been a long runner-up toward the official release of Smart’s largest and most advanced model. After the showstopper concept at the Beijing Autoshow and the leaked images from the Chinese regulator, Smart has now cleared the official pictures and specifications on the #5. The all-electric SUV hits the heart of the electric car market, […]
August 30, 2024
If anyone hoped the zero tax policy for EVs the Flemish government is offering to lure more people into electric driving was a never-ending story, it is time to wake up. Around the negotiating table for the next government, all parties – N-VA, Vooruit, and CD&V – agree that the ‘zero tariff’ will no longer […]
August 30, 2024
According to data from ACEA, the European Manufacturers Association, new EU car registrations saw a modest increase (+0.2%) in July 2024. However, there were mixed results across the region’s four major markets: Italy (+4.7%) and Spain (+3.4%) recorded moderate gains, while the French (-2.3%) and German (-2.1%) markets experienced declines. Seven months into 2024, new […]
August 29, 2024
Chery Automobile, China’s fifth-biggest automaker with over 1.88 million vehicles sold worldwide last year, says it will take on Belgium from the end of Q4 2024 with two models: the Omoda 5 EV and the Jaecoo 7 PHEV. Officially, three dealers, one in Genk, one in Liège, and one in Luxemburg, were already presented, but […]
August 29, 2024
Hyundai is shifting gears, doubling the number of hybrid models in its lineup as demand for all-electric vehicles slows. The South Korean automaker announced the new plan, dubbed “Hyundai Way,” during its annual Investor Day. The plan reflects broader industry trends as major brands reevaluate their electric vehicle strategies. The decision signals a significant pivot […]
August 29, 2024
Driveco, a French operator of charging stations for electric vehicles, wants to install 1,500 charging stations in Belgium by 2030 and will allocate 15 million euros for this purpose. The company is already present in Belgium, with 70 charging stations in fifteen different stations, but the goal is to increase that number considerably in the […]
August 29, 2024
While Chinese brands with a solid international sales strategy face significant hurdles over import tariffs, their financial health remains in top shape. After the Geely Group announced record profits earlier this month, BYD also recorded baffling profit growth. Despite slashing prices on its electric vehicles in China, BYD’s net income nearly doubled in the second […]
August 28, 2024
Xpeng is looking for a European production site because of the additional EU tariffs on imported electric cars from China. In addition, the Chinese start-up is intensifying its ongoing cooperation with Volkswagen. Xpeng’s CEO, He Xiaopeng, told Bloomberg that the company is initially selecting a production site in the EU and planning to set up […]
August 27, 2024
The Belgian public railroad company NMBS/SNCB will call for tenders this fall for the rollout of a large network of charging stations in its station car parks, reports the business newspaper De Tijd/L’Echo. The NMBS/SNCB charging station network is not extensive at the moment. The railroad company has 522 stations with parking facilities totaling 75,000 […]
August 26, 2024
Chinese Build Your Dreams (BYD) jumped over Japanese carmakers Honda and Nissan in Q2 2024 to the seventh spot in the top ten of the world’s biggest car manufacturers. According to data from the automotive industry portal Marklines, it sold 980,000 units, a 40% growth, partly thanks to overseas sales. It tripled this year to […]
August 26, 2024
The global automotive industry is weakening, with German carmakers experiencing a continued decline in earnings during the first half of the year, according to a study by auditing and consulting firm EY released on Friday. German car giants Volkswagen, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz collectively earned €25.9 billion in operating profit (EBIT) from January to June, marking […]
August 23, 2024
China’s automotive sector overcapacity is the root of its current trade tensions with the West. Though Beijing denies beefing up its production stock, a new German study has sized the capacity, highlighting the souped-up growth. And contrary to what one might think, the leading brand in production isn’t BYD. China’s automotive industry has rapidly expanded […]
August 23, 2024
The Antwerp Waasland tunnel, the oldest vehicle tunnel under the river Scheldt that connects the city with the river’s left bank, will only be available for local traffic from September 23rd. The city of Antwerp decided this on the advice of the Roads and Traffic Agency (Agentschap Wegen en Verkeer, AWV). Soon, through traffic will […]
August 23, 2024
For the first time, Tesla was challenged as the autocratic ruler of BEV sales in Europe by BMW, which sold more fully electric cars than the American electric brand in July 2024. BMW registered 14,869 BEVs that month, with the iX1, i4, and i5 as the driving forces, while the new iX2 registered more than […]
August 22, 2024
Zeekr, Geely’s luxury electric car spin-off, has announced it will introduce a hybrid flagship to its line-up starting next year. Zeekr CEO Andy An confirmed the shift to combustion engine technology. It’s a watershed decision as the brand’s focus has been exclusively on battery electric vehicles until now. The trend of hybridized drivelines gaining more […]
August 22, 2024
Ford is recalibrating its electrification strategy yet again, canceling plans for a fully electric sport utility vehicle in a shift that may cost the carmaker around $1.9 billion. In addition to scrapping an all-electric three-row SUV that had already been delayed, Ford will postpone a next-generation electric pickup and reduce spending on EVs to 30% of […]
August 22, 2024
The EU Commission has presented the draft for the final additional tariffs on imported electric vehicles from China. The logic of the planned tariffs remains basically the same, but the respective tariff rates have been lowered slightly, and regulation is now also known for Tesla. Meanwhile, China has already reacted by opening an inquiry on […]
August 21, 2024
Chinese luxury car brand Denza, a joint venture between BYD and Mercedes-Benz, has officially launched its new Z9 GT. The flagship model, which takes the shape of a shooting brake, has up to 1,000 hp and 630 km of range. This new model will be critical in Denza’s international sales, as it should come to […]
August 20, 2024
The Chinese car manufacturer Dongfeng Motor launched a new low-cost EV in Europe. Starting at around €23,000, the Dongfeng Nammi Box EV is one of the cheapest EVs in Europe at the moment. Dongfeng is one of China’s oldest and largest automakers. It was the second state-owned auto brand established following FAW. Dongfeng builds Nissan […]
August 19, 2024
According to data from South Korean market watcher SNE Research, hydrogen car sales are dropping fast worldwide. Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) experienced a marked decline in the first half of 2024, with sales falling by 34.1% compared to last year. The challenges for the FCEV industry keep growing. SNE Research says only 5,621 hydrogen […]
August 19, 2024
Porsche is responding to the slower electric ramp-up. Following the recent changes in the production of the electric Taycan, the production of the combustion-powered Cayenne is also being extended. Meanwhile, it has acquired 32% of the shares of battery specialist Varta. Porsche has cautiously adjusted its target that more than 80% of cars delivered in […]
August 16, 2024
Alarm bells are ringing on both sides of the Atlantic over the free fall of used EV prices. Studies indicate these are up to 40% lower than a comparable gasoline car. Facing surging pressure on their profits, some leasing companies are threatening to exit EV adoption and return to the drivelines that keep their business […]
August 16, 2024
According to senior vice president Stella Li, BYD’s number two, the most important Chinese EV manufacturer aims to be seen as the leading tech brand of the car industry and considered alongside the major brands within half a decade. “Five years from now, we would like consumers to view BYD as like one of the […]
August 14, 2024
Parkwind, a Belgian offshore wind energy company, has installed the first electric ship-charging station at sea. The station runs on wind power and aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from maintenance and transport vessels. The charging system was installed in Parkwind’s third offshore wind energy project, Nobelwind, which is 29 miles (47 kilometers) offshore in […]
August 14, 2024
The Volkswagen Trinity was once regarded as the VW Group’s first upcoming electric flagship and was due to be launched in 2026. The launch seems to have been postponed to 2032, and the first VW product on the new SSP platform could be the full electric Golf. It was already clear that the 2026 date […]
August 14, 2024
The struggling Chinese premium electric car brand HiPhi has filed for bankruptcy. Due to a lack of sales, it is unable to pay suppliers. Human Horizons, the brand’s manufacturer, has filed for restructuring in Yangcheng, China. Founded in 2018 with grand ambitions, HiPhi wanted to push the EV envelope with two models with more than […]
August 13, 2024
The international insurance company Allianz Trade warns that the fall in prices of critical metals, such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel, is hindering the global energy transition. According to the credit insurer, price drops create uncertainty and deter investors in sustainable energy. The postponement of investments is bad news for Europe. Brussels wants to catch […]
August 13, 2024
Fewer cars and trucks drove on Flemish highways last year than in 2019, the year before Covid-19. Nevertheless, according to the Flemish Traffic Center’s annual overviews, traffic congestion was at its highest level in 2023. On an average working day in 2023, almost 3% fewer vehicle kilometers traveled on Flemish highways than in 2019, a […]
August 13, 2024
In an interview with the German newspaper Der Welt, Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume has strongly supported the European Union’s planned ban on combustion engines by 2035. Blume affirmed that electric mobility is the clear path forward for the automotive industry and emphasized a niche role for e-fuels. In the interview, Blume aligned himself with […]
August 12, 2024
Milan Nedeljkovic, BMW Group board member responsible for production, says that fully electric vehicles must have their own dedicated lane on highways. In an interview with the German newspaper Münchner Merkur, Nedeljkovic explained that this would make the possession and use of an EV far more attractive. “When EVs are constantly overtaking you while you […]
August 12, 2024
Sources familiar with the matter said on Sunday that Mitsubishi was in talks to join the Nissan-Honda alliance to play catch-up with foreign rivals in developing electric vehicles and advanced technology for next-generation vehicles. The deal has now been officialized. Former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn says this is a ‘disguised take-over’ by Honda. The three […]
August 12, 2024
Scientists at Oxford University Physics Department have developed a revolutionary solar power-generating coating that can be applied on everyday objects from buildings over car bodies like future EVs to ‘wearables ‘ like a backpack or even your cellphone’s back. There is no need for silicon-based solar panels anymore, and it’s even more efficient. The technique […]
August 09, 2024
BYD’s mid-range electric sedan, the Seal, gets a facelift for the 2025 model year and was presented on Thursday. The BEV is offered in China in four variants with a starting price of 175,800 yuan (€22,417), up to 239,800 yuan (€30,475). Like the Sea Lion 07, the 2025 Seal will be built on BYD’s upgraded […]
August 09, 2024
The ‘Brussels Auto Show’ (BAS), the Dutch alternative to the ostracized ‘Brussels Motor Show (BMS)’ of the Belgian car importers federation Febiac, had to shed its skin, becoming the ‘Belgian Motor Show’ and moving to Flanders Expo Ghent in March 2025. The show, which targets car enthusiasts with supercars and lots of show rather than […]
August 08, 2024
German car rental company Sixt is going to rent out fewer electric cars. It is a remarkable reversal for Europe’s largest car rental company, which has always prided itself on significantly reducing the carbon footprint of its rental fleet by achieving a 70-90% share of EVs in Europe by 2030. According to the listed company, […]
August 08, 2024
The new Fiat Grande Panda was unveiled nearly two months ago. However, most of us missed its most brilliant feature. Behind the Fiat logo on the front fascia of the electric crossover hides an integrated charging cable that comes out like on a vacuum cleaner. The electric Grande Panda is the first, but it won’t […]
August 08, 2024
Sales of electrified cars have passed a new milestone in China. The share of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles outperformed conventional combustion-engine-only cars last month. These represented 50.8% of all passenger car sales. The historic shift underscores China’s status as the world’s largest car market, where the number of electrified vehicles keeps increasing rapidly. According […]
August 07, 2024
German consulting firm P3 has published a whitepaper comparing the total cost of ownership (TCO) of battery-electric trucks to traditional diesel trucks in regional and long-haul transport scenarios. In conclusion, electric trucks are already cheaper to run in both scenarios, but with a few asterisks. P3 used an “industry average” in their calculations for the […]
August 07, 2024
Italian luxury electric brand Aehra has revealed the final names chosen for its first two models. The electric SUV will be called Impeto, while the electric saloon will be known as Estasi. Both share a platform with three electric motors, 805 hp, a 120-kWh battery, and more than 800 km range. Aehra also announced that […]
August 07, 2024
Engineers from the famous Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston have found a method for creating pure hydrogen at sea that might become an interesting new path for greening the shipping industry. The technique uses recycled aluminum from soda cans, seawater, and… caffeine. The engineers estimate that just 1 gram of aluminum would generate […]
August 06, 2024
According to CNEVPost, the German premium car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz has been given the go-ahead to test Level 4 (L4) autonomous vehicles in Beijing, following approval for L3 testing in the Chinese capital city late last year. To our knowledge Mercedes is one of the few manufacturers to have obtained the permission to use Level 3 […]
August 06, 2024
Samsung is upping the stakes in the race to commercialize solid-state batteries. At the SNE Battery Day 2024 event in Seoul, South Korea, the tech company announced that its pilot production line is now fully operational, with plans to transform into mass production by 2027. Early customers have already returned feedback on their solid-state oxide […]
August 06, 2024
According to a media report, a mid-size SUV will follow shortly after the new CLA four-door Mercedes, which is set to launch soon. This X174 model (internal codename) should be on the market at the end of 2025 and is labeled as ‘a Tesla Model Y fighter’. The news comes from Automotive News, which cites […]
August 05, 2024
Several media outlets speculate about a possible Chinese takeover of the Audi factory in Forest (southwestern part of Brussels). The factory’s future as an Audi outlet looks dark, and Chinese companies looking for a solution to the import tariff war started by the EU could bring a solution. Currently, the Brussels factory is idle because […]
August 02, 2024
TotalEnergies will install up to 2,000 new charging stations on the streets of all 19 Brussels municipalities before the end of June 2025. The French multinational energy and petroleum company announced this in a press release. The news comes as quite a surprise because in recent weeks there has been a lot of fuss about […]
August 02, 2024
The difficult car market leaves deep traces in the supplier sector, with a large failure round plaguing the companies involved. Big names like seat maker Recaro and wheel forger BBS filed for bankruptcy this week, while French supplier Valeo and German counterpart ZF are facing heavy restructuring strategies. Bracing for the new automotive era comes […]
August 01, 2024
Last week, the Stellantis Group published its results for the first half of 2024, and they weren’t good. The net benefit for H1, € 5.6 billion, decreased by 48% compared to the record-breaking performance last year. Meanwhile, the manufacturer is confronted with delivery problems for its new, long-awaited enlargement of its electric portfolio. Turnover for […]
August 01, 2024
Audi has unveiled its electric business saloon and station wagon, the A6 Sportback e-tron and A6 Avant e-tron. Both models are directly inspired by their concept versions from a few years ago, while the technical side is similar to the Q6 e-tron SUV launched earlier this year. And thanks to a very slippery design, the […]
August 01, 2024
In the second quarter of 2024, BMW Group saw its earnings drop a bit due to a weak Chinese market and the investment costs for the ‘Neue Klasse’. On the other hand, the Munich-based carmaker was successful in selling more EVs. BMW is not the only one struggling with a demand slowdown in China. The […]
July 31, 2024
Chinese carmakers registered a record share of 11% of the EU’s plus UK’s electric car market in June, as they rushed to import as many EVs as possible before July 5th, the date the European Commission fixed for preliminary import taxes on Chinese cars. The figures come from market analysis by the German automotive data […]
July 30, 2024
Until now, China’s biggest EV car manufacturer, BYD, was best known for its low-cost electric cars. That hasn’t stopped the Chinese EV maker from taking on new market segments. Its latest: luxury electric supercars. BYD’s first electric supercar, the Yangwang U9, has entered production ahead of deliveries later this summer. Yangwang Yangwang was launched in […]
