March 24, 2025
Once a symbol of Europe’s proud automotive tradition, several closed or downsized car factories across Western Europe are now being repurposed for defense manufacturing. Not only Audi Brussels but also VDL Nedcar and Volkswagen Osnabrück are trading in automotive parts for military components. This reminds us of how the automotive assembly sector was transformed for […]
March 22, 2025
With the next one—the #5—hitting the market in a few weeks, Smart has grown up. With its 4,695 mm length, width of 1,920 mm, height of 1,705 mm, and wheelbase of 2,900 mm, it is almost double the size of the original Smart ForTwo, which saw the light of day in 1998. Mercedes’ little brother, […]
March 21, 2025
“Our sales in Europe will make a big jump starting in March and April,” says Stella Li, Vice-President of the Chinese car manufacturer BYD. The carmaker still wants to expand its offer of PHEVs and BEVs, including a very affordable entry-level model. Meanwhile, Europe is investigating the financial aid the company got to build its […]
March 20, 2025
IKEA Belgium is ramping up its sustainability efforts by introducing seven new electric trucks for home deliveries. The move aims to modernize its logistics operations. Built by Volvo Trucks in Ghent, these vehicles will handle large orders, such as kitchens and wardrobes, reinforcing the retailer’s commitment to eco-friendly transportation. The purchase of the electric trucks […]
March 20, 2025
Surprisingly, SAIC Motor’s daughter MG will launch a completely new version of its MG4 EV. This car sells well overseas but has very low sales in China. The new version is larger than the previous one and has a brand-new design. This might signal that the company decided to start all over again with its […]
March 19, 2025
Tesla’s turbulent start to 2025, fueled by CEO Elon Musk’s political narrative, is lashing back at its owners. These face not only repercussions from activists throwing eggs and dog excrement at their cars but also higher running costs. For a brand that once set the pace for the global electric vehicle market, Tesla’s past few […]
March 19, 2025
Scientists in China claim to have found a way to breathe new life into worn-out lithium-ion batteries. Researchers at Fudan University have developed a revolutionary lithium injection method that could restore degraded batteries to near-factory conditions. They say this breakthrough could dramatically extend battery lifespan and stabilize EV resale values. The findings, published in the […]
March 18, 2025
Stellantis is partnering with Swedish startup Luvly to explore its innovative flat-pack vehicle production method. This method could dramatically reduce manufacturing and transportation costs and prove a worthwhile Western alternative to Chinese low-cost production. With the Citroën Ami and its siblings at Opel (Rock-e) and Fiat (Topolino), Stellantis has already explored the market for microcars. […]
March 18, 2025
The crisis at Audi deepens. Just weeks after the full closure of its Brussels plant, the luxury carmaker announced that it will slash 7,500 jobs in Germany by 2029 as part of a broad cost-cutting strategy. The Volkswagen-owned luxury automaker announced the move after lengthy negotiations with the company’s works council. The job cuts, which […]
March 18, 2025
Chinese EV maker NIO, known for its pioneering role in battery swapping, is joining forces with CATL, its major supplier, to set up a worldwide car-swapping network. CATL, the world’s biggest battery maker, puts its money where its mouth is by investing 2.5 billion yuan (€316 million) in Nio Power. Both parties signed an agreement […]
March 17, 2025
BMW is preparing for an aggressive product rollout. As part of its annual earnings call, the carmaker unveiled plans for more than 40 new and updated models by 2027, starting with the highly anticipated Neue Klasse iX3. The German automaker is betting on this next-generation EV technology to reverse a 4% drop in global sales […]
March 17, 2025
Changan, a state-owned Chinese auto manufacturer known for its sub-brands Avatr and Deepal and its joint ventures for domestic production of Ford and Mazda models, is coming to Europe. The brand will hold a launch event in Mainz, Germany, where it will introduce the Deepal S07 to the European public, soon followed by other models. […]
March 14, 2025
Since the Covid-19 crisis, there has been a “permanent change in household mobility behavior.” In particular, expenditures on car use have fallen significantly. That is the conclusion of a recent report by the Federal Planning Bureau and the Federal Public Service Mobility. However, there is a big difference between the regions. Households living in Wallonia […]
March 13, 2025
Porsche is embarking on a significant restructuring effort, cutting 3,900 jobs as it faces declining sales in China, rising trade tensions, and a potential tariff battle with the United States. The German sports carmaker is adjusting its financial outlook and product strategy to maintain profitability. The company announced the job reductions to boost efficiency and […]
March 13, 2025
Europe’s pride in battery manufacturing, Northvolt, has filed for bankruptcy in Sweden, marking a major setback for the EU’s efforts to compete with Chinese dominance in the electric vehicle battery market. Despite years of substantial investment from automakers, financial institutions, and government subsidies, the company failed to secure the $1 billion needed to sustain operations […]
March 12, 2025
Volkswagen’s profit dwindled by one-third last year due to slow demand and a cooldown in the Chinese market. But the salary of its CEO, Oliver Blume, rose. Will the near future relieve the ongoing problems at the German car giant? Volkswagen’s net profit plummeted 30.6% in 2024 to €12.39 billion. Europe’s largest automaker grapples with […]
March 12, 2025
Tesla shares tumbled more than 15% on Monday, suffering their worst single-day drop since 2020. The electric vehicle maker is grappling with plunging sales, and its valuation has been halved since December to roughly $700 billion (€640 billion). The trend marks a dramatic reversal from the optimism that followed Donald Trump’s election victory. To help […]
March 12, 2025
Nissan, the Japanese car manufacturer, has decided to change its leadership. The current CEO, Makoto Ushida, will leave at the end of the month. Ivan Espinosa, previously head of planning, will take over as CEO from the 1st of April. Ushida is said to have taken responsibility for the company’s economic crisis and the failed […]
March 12, 2025
Another car-sharing company is pulling out of Belgium. German provider Miles Mobility will leave the country entirely just two years after entering the market, citing rampant vandalism, misuse, and theft – issues particularly severe in Brussels. Margins aren’t strong enough to compensate for the rotten apples. The company announced on Tuesday that it will gradually […]
March 12, 2025
Three Toyota EVs will be on the market soon, and three more will be available by 2026. Luxury brand Lexus also promises three new EVs within twelve months. Nevertheless, the world’s number one car manufacturer won’t change its ‘multi-pathway’ approach. For Toyota, Europe is significant. It may sell ‘only’ 1.2 million cars on the old […]
March 11, 2025
Mercedes has begun the final winter testing of its new generation of luxury MPVs on the all-new VAN.EA (electric) and VAN.CA (combustion) platforms. This new model will be the successor to the current V-Class and EQV minivans, with a focus on more comfort on board and a more advanced electric drivetrain. Winter testing is one […]
March 11, 2025
Volkswagen has announced that its upcoming entry-level electric vehicle, the ID.Every1, will be produced in Portugal, as part of affordability push. Expected to hit the market in 2027 with a price tag of around €20,000, the compact city car will be built at the company’s Palmela factory, located 40 kilometers south of Lisbon. The announcement […]
March 11, 2025
Brussels-based holding company D’Ieteren enjoyed a record year with over a billion euros in pre-tax profits. The importer of VW vehicles and parent company to auto glass repairer Belron/Carglass, among others, came in at 1,065 billion euros in 2024. That’s 9.6% better than in 2023. Total sales also rose 3.5% to 12.07 billion euros. More […]
March 11, 2025
American car manufacturer Ford is supporting the transformation of its European business with fresh capital for its German subsidiary. The US manufacturer announced a capital injection of up to 4.4 billion euros, which is intended to ensure the “financial stability of Ford-Werke GmbH.” At the same time, it cancels an important guarantee, which worries the […]
March 10, 2025
Volvo’s flagship electric SUV, the EX90, is set for a significant technological upgrade. The carmaker is preparing to transition to an 800-volt electrical architecture, which will significantly improve the vehicle’s charging speed, bringing it in line with Volvo’s latest electric model, the ES90. The EX90, which only recently began reaching customers in key markets after […]
March 07, 2025
Chinese carmaker Xpeng has started rolling out its highly anticipated 2025 model lineup, and the latest addition is a refreshed version of its flagship SUV, the G9. This SUV, also available in Europe, is exciting as stakeholder Volkswagen intends to build derivatives of the model. The new G9’s LiDAR-based driving assistance aid swap is among […]
March 07, 2025
The world’s number one automaker, Japanese Toyota, is aiming its arrows on the world’s biggest auto market with the bZ3X electric SUV, introduced in China at 109,800 yuan or some 14,000 euros. The Chinese elbowed each other out of the way, crashing the server with more than 10,000 orders in an hour. It’s Toyota’s cheapest […]
March 06, 2025
After the first teaser info, and a leak of a picture from Volvo’s Belgian division yesterday, the Swedish car maker finally took the wraps off its new sedan ES90. It’s the first all-electric offering from Volvo in this segment. And the Swedes tried their best to give the Audi A6 e-Tron, BMW i5 and Mercedes […]
March 06, 2025
At a big event on Wednesday, Volkswagen showed its concept of the €20,000 BEV it wants to launch by 2027, the VW ID. Every1. The name gives away the whole idea: with this small BEV, ‘Volks-Wagen’ wants to become the manufacturer of ‘the car for all people’ again. With the series model, which will follow […]
March 05, 2025
Belgian Trends-Tendances magazine reports that Spanish-listed train builder CAF has won a tender to build hundreds of trains for Belgian railroad company NMBS/SNCB. French player Alstom, which is firmly entrenched in Belgium, missed out on the contract worth more than 3 billion euros, even though it was cheaper than the Spanish competitor. According to La […]
March 05, 2025
In the past month of February, slightly fewer second-hand cars were registered, but noticeably more private individuals were interested in new cars. According to Filip Rylant, spokesperson for Mobility Federation Traxio, “In February, 60,047 used cars were registered, a slight decrease of -0.5% (or 308 units) compared to February 2024, but 6,852 (+12.9%) units more […]
March 05, 2025
Chinese tech giant Xiaomi’s CEO, William Lu, is currently in Spain, where he told the Chinese press Jiemian that he will tour Europe’s car markets in the coming days to prepare for the launch of its EVs on the Old Continent starting in 2027. He wants to see firsthand how Chinese EV makers are doing […]
March 05, 2025
After promising ‘dozens’of new or refreshed models by the end of 2027, Mercedes has unveiled more details of its product offensive for the coming two years. The German manufacturer will launch over a dozen all-new models, eight facelifts, and two concept cars that will further expand the model range. Mercedes has faced a rough 2024, […]
March 04, 2025
According to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Brussels could weaken the CO2 target for car manufacturers in 2025. It is also holding out the prospect of a new battery subsidy. She explained that she wanted manufacturers to achieve the CO2 target over the next three years instead of this year, as initially planned, […]
March 04, 2025
As Volvo gears up for the full release of its new flagship sedan, ES90, tomorrow, the Belgian division accidentally uploaded an image of the latest model on its web page. The electric sedan, which is bound to break the brand’s barriers in charging and autonomy, unveils itself as a mix between the Polestar 2 and […]
March 04, 2025
In February 2025, 40,161 cars were registered in Belgium and Luxembourg, a decrease of 8.1%. Importer federation Febiac and the federal service Mobility & Transport point out that for the first time since 2014, the market of individual buyers is again slightly more significant than the professional market. BEVs increased their share to one-third of […]
February 28, 2025
While European carmakers one after another slink off with their tail between their legs, abandoning their fully electric goals and pushing hybrid ICE instead, South Korean Kia goes straight ahead with its electric flagging zeal. At the brand’s 2025 Kia EV Day in Tarragona, Spain, it unveiled its latest weapons to conquer that part of […]
February 28, 2025
On Tuesday, February 25th, the last Audi Q8 e-tron rolled off the line at Audi Brussels. Today, the factory closes its doors. Although the factory’s closure was announced a while ago, it symbolizes the upheaval in the car industry just a few days before the EU Commission’s action plan. Rumors had already emerged at the […]
February 27, 2025
The European Commission proposed a significant action plan on Wednesday to accelerate the decarbonization of European industry. The Commission believes that EU countries must act now. The climate crisis, weak economic growth, declining business competitiveness, and significant geopolitical tensions (with Moscow, Washington, and Beijing) require a comprehensive transition plan. Various supporting measures should help with […]
February 26, 2025
The BMW Group has halted its plan to manufacture electric Mini cars at the Oxford plant in England. Two all-electric models were due to roll off the production line at Oxford next year, but this has now been postponed. The BMW Group announced in 2023 that it would build two new all-electric Mini models in […]
February 26, 2025
Milence, the joint venture between Europe’s largest truckmakers created to develop the fast-charging network for battery-electric trucks, has deployed its first two chargers using the Megawatt Charging System (MCS) standard. Belgium has the honor, as these MCS chargers can be found at the Ketenis truck stop in the port of Antwerp. The Megawatt Charging System […]
February 26, 2025
Tesla’s dominance in the European electric vehicle market took a significant hit in January 2025, as the company saw a staggering 45.2% drop in sales compared to the same period in 2024. New data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) reveal that Tesla sold just under 10,000 units in the region last month, down […]
February 25, 2025
Is Europe’s ban on combustion engines a curse or a blessing for its industry? Dwindling profits, plant closures, and firm reliance on global outsourcing seem to point to the first, but a study from the University of Sussex claims the opposite. “Changing gears (or acting as Trump does in the US, ed.) would be a […]
February 25, 2025
CALB, after CATL and BYD, is China’s third-biggest battery maker. It has broken ground for a brand new factory in the Portuguese deepwater port of Sines, halfway on the Atlantic coast between Lisbon and Lagos. All three invest heavily in European battery factories, while the old continent is lagging with its own trumpeted ‘Airbus of […]
February 25, 2025
Mercedes-Benz has started testing a solid-state battery from partner Factorial Energy in a modified EQS this month. In the coming weeks, the Stuttgart-based company wants to collect data on the battery’s efficiency, durability, and performance. Road tests with the new solid-state battery in a ‘1,000 km’ EQS test car started in February 2025. According to […]
February 25, 2025
In January 2025, new EU car registrations declined by -2.6%. Notably, the bloc’s major markets saw declines, with France (-6.2%), Italy (-5.8%), and Germany (-2.8%). Spain conversely recorded a 5.3% increase. The data comes from ACEA, the Association of European Car Manufacturers. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) made up 15% of the market share, up from […]
February 24, 2025
Following the failed merger talks between Nissan and Honda, a Japanese initiative hopes that Tesla will invest in Nissan. However, it’s not very clear what the long-term benefits for Tesla could be, and Elon Musk seems reluctant. According to a report in the Financial Times, a Japanese advisory group led by former Tesla board member […]
February 14, 2025
After the BMW Group had already switched Mini sales to the agency model in 2024, the plan was to introduce it for the core BMW brand at the beginning of 2026. However, this timetable has been pushed back, but BMW, unlike VW, is sticking to the move. The agency model is a hot and even […]
February 14, 2025
The Walloon government has ratified an adaptation to its road tax reform that will take effect in July this year. The adaptation will ease the burden on households and promote green mobility. Installed under the previous government, the new taxation scheme primarily targets larger and heavier cars. This move impairs families and individual buyers who […]
February 14, 2025
Porsche plans to cut 1,900 jobs in Germany as part of cost-cutting measures to reverse sliding profitability amid weak electric vehicle demand and “challenging geopolitical and economic conditions.” The job losses will affect workers at Porsche’s main plant in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen and its R&D site in Weissach. A year ago, Porsche CEO Oliver Blume lauded his […]
February 14, 2025
Ahead of its official world premiere on March 5th, Volkswagen already teased further with two sketches on LinkedIn of how the €20.000 budget EV of the brand, the ID.1, will look like. And it inherits some of the straight lines of that other budget VW, the Up! This successor to the VW Lupo and Up!, […]
February 13, 2025
Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. are set to scrap their plan to merge into what would have become the world’s third-biggest auto group by volume as negotiations collapsed less than two months after its announcement. Meanwhile, Chinese Foxconn is lurking around the corner, not to take over Nissan but to cooperate with them. […]
February 13, 2025
As automakers continue to push the boundaries of the electric vehicle range, two industry namesakes – Lucid Motors and BMW – are advocating for a different approach. Both companies argue that more miniature battery packs, increased efficiency, and improved charging infrastructure are the future of sustainable EV adoption. Can less really be more? Lucid Motors, […]
February 13, 2025
Kia is holding its second EV Day on February 27, 2025, where it will showcase its newest electric models and its electric strategy for the coming years. Already announced to be present are the production-ready EV4, the PV5 electric light commercial vehicle, and the EV2 Concept, a preview of a more compact electric model within […]
February 12, 2025
According to Deloitte’s Global Automotive Consumer Study 2025, four key trends will impact the Belgian automotive market most in the coming year. The most important is the hesitation to switch to electric cars. The study surveyed more than 31,000 consumers in 30 countries, including 999 Belgians, from October through December 2024 to explore opinions regarding […]
February 11, 2025
According to a report in the newspaper De Tijd, the number of public EV charging points in Flanders nearly doubled in 2024, significantly surpassing government targets. This further cements Belgium’s position as a frontrunner in the adoption of electric mobility, as new registrations of EVs last year surged to the highest rate of any European […]
February 11, 2025
Volvo Cars has added a ‘Cross Country’ version to its EX30 electric model portfolio. The new version uses the same all-wheel drive as the top model but comes with unique accessories and more ground clearance. The Volvo EX30 Cross Country is based on the top-of-the-range Ultra equipment line and features the familiar all-wheel drive with […]
February 10, 2025
Renault has unveiled its new generation of electric light commercial vehicles (LCVs), which will be called Estafette, Goelette, and Trafic. The names are new, but the cars were already presented under the Flexis name in January due to the joint venture between Renault Group, Volvo Group, and CMA CGM. A couple of weeks ago, Flexis […]
February 10, 2025
It looks like it is further going downhill with American hydrogen truckmaker Nicola, following a The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg report that the company is considering Chapter 11 to propose a plan of reorganization to keep its business alive and pay creditors over time. Last week, Nicola (NASDAQ: NKLA) shares tumbled as much as […]
February 10, 2025
Leasing company Arval Belgium has published new data from its Arval Mobility Observatory indicating that the smaller EV is now seriously breaking through in the company car market. The number of PHEVs has fallen back to 10% of new registrations in this market. Nine of ten company cars ordered in 2024 through Arval have a […]
