January 14, 2026
On Tuesday, the German bus company Flix, parent company of FlixBus, announced the acquisition of a majority share of Flibco, a leading European airport transfer platform currently owned by the Luxembourg company SLG (formerly Sales-Lentz Group). The parties involved did not disclose financial details. The Flibco name will, in any case, be retained after the takeover. […]
January 14, 2026
If global warming continues at its current pace, the most important global climate goal could be missed by the end of this decade. The European climate service Copernicus warns of this in an annual report. The last eleven years have been the warmest on record – an undeniable trend toward a warmer climate – the Copernicus […]
January 13, 2026
Fraudulent traffickers in Flanders are systematically stealing time slots for practical driving tests and then reselling them to people who want to pass their exam faster. The fraud was discovered by the consumer radio program WinWin. It remains unclear how the fraudsters operate. However, it involves a form of hacking in which hackers reserve time slots […]
January 12, 2026
Former Energy Minister Tinne Van der Straeten (Green) is leaving politics and becoming CEO of the green interest group WindEurope. Van der Straeten resigns from parliament and will start working at WindEurope on February 2nd. “Wind energy is crucial for the continent’s electricity supply, economic competitiveness, and climate goals. It provides Europe with affordable electricity, strengthens […]
January 12, 2026
New motorcycle registrations fell by 12.2% in 2025 (to 24,872 units) compared to 2024. However, 2024 was the best year of the past 15 years. The sector expects a strong start to 2026, thanks in part to the Brussels Auto Show, where nearly 20 motorcycle brands will be represented this year and at least 310 […]
January 10, 2026
Air quality in Beijing is better than ever. In 2025, the city reported more than 340 days of ‘good’ or ‘moderate’ air quality, attributable to strict emission regulations and the growing number of electric vehicles in Chinese cities. Heavy pollution days dropped from dozens per year in the early 2010s to almost zero. Over the […]
January 10, 2026
Company managers and employers often prefer to extend their current contracts by one year rather than purchase a new company car to keep the old, more favourable corporate tax deduction rules in place for longer. And if a new company car is purchased, it is greener but more expensive. By the end of 2024, 8 out […]
January 08, 2026
The kilometer charge for trucks in Belgium once again generated more than a billion euros last year – €1,060 billion to be precise. This is evident from statistics compiled by Viapass, the interregional entity that coordinates and monitors the kilometer charge in Belgium. In concrete terms, the toll generated €691.8 million in Flanders, €357.4 million […]
January 08, 2026
According to the German Hydrographic and Maritime Transport Office (BSH), the temperature of the North Sea in 2025 was the hottest ever recorded. Compared to the long-term average from 1997 to 2021, it was 0.9°C warmer. The BSH examines the surface temperatures of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea weekly, combining satellite data with […]
January 07, 2026
Car-sharing operator Cambio saw its user base increase by 15% last year, from 71,500 in 2024 to 82,000 in 2025. The shared-mobility provider has about 3,000 cars available – including more than 400 electric vehicles – in 147 cities and municipalities across Belgium. The cambio cars are used intensively, ensuring that cambio users (80% of […]
January 06, 2026
Last year, the Belgian second-hand car market achieved its best results since 2006. While the new car market continues to decline, the volume of used cars remains stable at a historically high level. Registrations increased by 0.9% (+6,194 units) after consecutive years of growth and a very strong 2024. In December alone, 59,090 used cars were registered, […]
January 05, 2026
According to the most optimistic scenario, the construction of new large nuclear power plants in Belgium will not be completed until the end of 2039 at the earliest. That is what a new study by the engineering firm Tractebel, part of the energy group Engie (which conducted a survey commissioned by the high-voltage grid operator […]
January 05, 2026
At the start of this year, fuel prices in Belgium are at their lowest level since the peak prices of 2022. The official maximum prices for fuel have become a lot cheaper than they were a year ago. The fact that prices at the pump in Belgium are so low has not gone unnoticed by […]
December 31, 2025
The Californian Monarch Tractor, a pioneer in self-driving and ‘smart’ electric tractors, must shelve its ambitious plans. Despite a record round of funding from PMV and other Belgian investors (Belgian industrial families, such as Colruyt, Toye, Adriaenssen-de Spoelberch, Thermote), the American tractor company is imploding from a promising producer of fully electric, autonomous tractors that can plough, […]
December 30, 2025
Almost 30% of drivers caught driving under the influence of drugs had taken more than one substance at the same time, the latest figures from Belgium’s National Institute for Criminalistics and Criminology (NICC) show. Drivers are increasingly testing for multiple drugs simultaneously. The party drug ketamine is also appearing more frequently in drunk driving. Last year, […]
December 29, 2025
The results of electricity provider Elia’s annual report aren’t yet complete. Still, it’s already clear that the production of renewables – wind and mainly solar energy in Belgium – will have reached a record high in 2025 – 22.4 TWh. This means that the share of renewable energy in the Belgian electricity mix is now as […]
December 29, 2025
While millions of people try to reduce their ecological footprint – by saving energy, buying fewer clothes, and sorting waste – the world’s wealthiest continue to emit the same amount of carbon as the average person does in a year by going on holiday just once. In other words, while ordinary citizens are encouraged or […]
December 23, 2025
The automotive sector will introduce a new environmental contribution to battery recycling from electric and hybrid vehicles starting in 2026. This was reported by Febelauto, the automotive sector’s management body for end-of-life vehicles and their batteries. This new contribution is in addition to the environmental contribution from the vehicle’s sustainable recycling. For a fully electric passenger […]
December 22, 2025
According to a recent study by the Dutch mobility organization Shuttel, people in the Netherlands cycle more frequently, charge their electric vehicles primarily at home, and travel in first class, particularly in winter. The study surveyed 250,000 employees at more than 100 organizations in the Netherlands. As in the Netherlands, cycling in Belgium has evolved from […]
December 19, 2025
Fastned, the European pioneer in fast charging, opened two new charging stations this month – one in Genk (carpool parking E314) and one in Veurne (near E40) – thereby surpassing the milestone of 50 fast-charging stations in Belgium. This year, the company opened 16 new charging stations in Belgium. The two recently opened stations are both equipped […]
December 19, 2025
On Thursday morning, charging infrastructure company Allego and real estate investor Mitiska REIM have opened a public fast-charging park for 24 cars in the parking lot of the Malinas shopping center in Mechelen. According to both partners, it is now the largest publicly accessible fast-charging hub in Flanders. The largest public fast-charging station so far […]
December 18, 2025
The European Commission is expanding the carbon tax system on imports of steel and aluminum, among other products. This will soon include finished products, such as car parts and washing machines. This will make the border tax somewhat more watertight. The so-called ‘Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism’ (CBAM) or border tax requires companies outside the EU […]
December 18, 2025
Almost 15% of vehicles on Belgian roads are driving around with unsafe tire combinations. Mobility federation Traxio reached this conclusion based on a survey of 1,000 drivers conducted last summer. The general condition of car tires, however, has improved, Traxio says. The Rolling Wheel study was carried out by the Federtyre (the Belgian federation of tire […]
December 17, 2025
In Ghent (Belgium), more than 250 residents will be measuring air quality in and around their homes for three months. This pilot project, called ‘Luchtmeters’ (Air meters), aims to map particulate matter pollution (PM 2.5), an essential source of pollution from wood stoves, traffic, and industry. The pilot is also intended to share experiences and raise […]
December 17, 2025
It’s almost an early Christmas story: last Monday, an American woman gave birth to her child in a Waymo autonomous vehicle while en route to UC San Francisco Medical Center. “A woman in labor gave birth in the back seat of a Waymo robotaxi, the company confirmed in a blog post on Wednesday. Mother and […]
December 16, 2025
Flemish arable land, intensively cultivated and driven over by heavy machinery, has the lowest soil carbon stock per hectare, particularly in the topsoil. Even the average Flemish garden performs better. Frequent tillage, heavy machinery, and limited long-term organic inputs accelerate the decomposition of organic matter, thereby increasing CO₂ emissions. This is evident from the latest […]
December 15, 2025
On Sunday, the eighth and final element of the immersed Scheldt tunnel in Antwerp was successfully lowered into place. This is a technically demanding operation in which massive concrete tunnel sections are floated into position, then carefully sunk and connected on the riverbed. The final element was inserted between elements six and eight, and there was only 25 centimeters of […]
December 15, 2025
Road assistance company Touring and D’Ieteren’s car-sharing platform Poppy will pilot an innovative project starting at the beginning of next year. Together, they will test remote-controlled cars to transport people. Anyone experiencing car trouble in the port of Antwerp can be taken to the replacement car depot by a remotely controlled Poppy vehicle. The experiment will […]
December 12, 2025
The speed at which emergency services respond is crucial for the survival of road accident victims. The Vias Institute therefore analyzed the time elapsed between answering the emergency call after an accident with injury and the arrival of emergency services at the scene. In Belgium, emergency services arrive at their destination within 12 minutes (11 minutes and […]
December 11, 2025
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has quietly rewritten its climate-change pages, removing or downplaying the scientific consensus that human emissions of greenhouse gases are the dominant cause of current global warming. Under pressure from US President Donald Trump, climate science is being rewritten step by step, and some essential aspects on the EPA’s website have […]
December 10, 2025
Sustainability saves lives and the global economy. Investing in a sustainable planet could extend millions of lives, end hunger, and ultimately generate trillions of dollars a year for the worldwide economy. That is the conclusion of 287 scientists from 82 countries in the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) ‘s Global Environmental Outlook, the most comprehensive report […]
December 09, 2025
From January 1st, 2026, medical exemptions authorising the use of seat belts will cease to be valid in Belgium. Anyone who benefits from an old exemption, issued before March 1st, 2022, and whose state of health still justifies the impossibility of wearing a seatbelt, will have to submit a new application. An exemption is only […]
December 08, 2025
Fines for traffic violations will soon increase by 10%; court fines will even increase by 25%. This was confirmed by the office of Minister of Justice Annelies Verlinden (CD&V). In concrete terms, this means that a minor first-degree offense, such as forgetting to signal, will now cost €63.80 instead of €58. A second-degree offense will increase […]
December 08, 2025
According to a recent study by the Belgian road safety institute Vias, there really is an “affective polarization” in traffic ─ negative feelings and hostility ─ between different groups of road users. People clearly rate their own group more positively than others, with particularly negative feelings toward e-scooters and cyclists. In an urban context, these tensions […]
December 05, 2025
A Dutch study has revealed interesting differences in brand loyalty between Asian and European, mainly premium, brands. The study was conducted by ikwilvanmijnautoaf.nl – translated as ‘I want to get rid of my car’ – a Dutch website that helps people sell their car quickly and hassle-free. Analysis of data from 250,000 vehicles registered in […]
December 04, 2025
Poppy, the D’Ieteren-owned mobility provider with its iconic red cars, is today launching Poppy Lease, a 100% digital, flexible offering for Belgian private individuals and the self-employed. The project actually started three years ago under the name MyPop as a test phase. Belgium lags far behind its neighbours in private leasing. A study by Renta, […]
December 04, 2025
Only five of the fourteen planned wind turbines that would be built next to the E313 between Riemst and Tongeren-Borgloon have received a permit from Flemish Environment Minister Jo Brouns (CD&V). The five licensed turbines together will provide enough energy for the annual consumption of 25,000 households. “We are committed to renewable energy, but with respect for […]
December 03, 2025
On Tuesday, the German premium car manufacturer BMW set a new 2035 milestone to cut CO2-equivalent emissions on the road to net zero. By 2035, the Munich-based company wants to emit at least 60 million tons of CO2 equivalents less than in 2019 – CO2 equivalents (CO2e) account for not only carbon dioxide but also […]
December 02, 2025
On Monday, the Brussels-based company Lizy, which specialises in the digital leasing of reconditioned used cars, received the ‘Scale-up of the Year 2025’ award, marking a milestone for a company that has reshaped one of Europe’s most traditional sectors. The award is granted by EY Belgium, in partnership with BNP Paribas Fortis, L’Echo, and De […]
December 01, 2025
The Flemish government has definitively abolished the tightening of the low-emission zones (LEZ). Initially, the plan was to ban diesel cars with the Euro 5 standard and gasoline cars with the Euro 2 standard from Antwerp and Ghent starting in 2026. Still, in September, the Flemish government decided to suspend this tightening. This suspension has […]
December 01, 2025
After operating for 50 years, the nuclear power plant Doel 2, on the banks of the river Scheldt, was finally shut down on Sunday evening. It is the fifth Belgian reactor to be disconnected, after Doel 1 and 3, and Tihange 1 and 2. Doel 3 was disconnected in 2022, Tihange 2 was shut down […]
November 28, 2025
While micromobility in Belgium usually slows down from the end of September – due to the weather and shorter days – the Bolt shared e-scooter platform in Antwerp is seeing continued growth, with a record month in October. Since the launch of the fleet of about 1,000 e-scooters in Antwerp in March of this year, usage […]
November 27, 2025
Inserting a biofuels loophole in the EU 2035 cars law could see a huge spike in demand for biofuels from waste feedstocks like animal fats, used cooking oil, and palm oil by-products, a new T&E analysis finds. A car running on animal fats, for example, would require the equivalent of 120 pigs a year. This […]
November 27, 2025
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Belgium has placed an order with the BMW Group Belux for 723 full electric vehicles. With this order, PwC will add 300 new Mini Aceman models to its fleet, along with 423 BMW iX1 eDrive20 models. This brings the total composition of PwC Belgium’s fleet to 90% electric and/or hybrid vehicles, of which […]
November 26, 2025
The US government is trying to roll back the particulate matter limits set by former President Joe Biden. The 2024 rule had cut the allowable ambient concentration of PM2.5 from 12 µg/m³ to 9 µg/m³ — a move aimed at significantly reducing air pollution and protecting public health. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), now headed by a director appointed by […]
November 26, 2025
In the Netherlands, air passenger numbers, road traffic, and the use of electric bicycles increased in 2024. And, according to research by the Dutch Knowledge Institute for Mobility Policy (KiM), this trend is expected to continue. In aviation, the number of passengers travelling to, via, or from Dutch airports increased by 7% (from 71.3 million […]
November 25, 2025
The Flemish Road Safety Foundation (VSV) has launched a new online campaign about the safe use of e-scooters. The ‘Slim op de e-step’ campaign (smart on the e-scooter) is primarily aimed at young people (18 to 30) and parents of underage (13 to 18) e-scooter users. E-scooters have been a common sight on the streets […]
November 24, 2025
What was supposed to be the climate summit of truth ended this weekend in Belém, Brazil, with a highly vague closing statement that offered no concrete commitments. In other words, COP30 in Belém ended with a weak but not-zero deal. It modestly advances climate finance and “just transition” issues, but ducks the central question of a phase-out […]
November 21, 2025
On January 1st, 2026, Magnus Nilsson will take over as the new CEO and plant manager of Volvo Car Gent from Stefan Fesser. After more than seven years, Stefan Fesser will take on a strategic role within the company. Magnus Nilsson (58) was born in Sweden. He has worked for Volvo Cars since 1988, in various […]
November 21, 2025
We already knew that men have a reputation for driving faster, but now Coyote, a pioneer in driver assistance, confirms this with its own research. In September, Coyote researchers collected data on the driving behavior of men and women in Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels. During this period, the average speed of women on highways in Flanders was […]
November 20, 2025
To enhance security and increase the EU’s deterrent capacity, Member States must be able to rapidly move large quantities of troops and equipment across the Union. This means there should be specific rules for cross-border military mobility, preferably without excessive administrative hassle. Currently, member states have their own rules and requirements, which make troop movements […]
November 19, 2025
On Tuesday evening, Belgium and Brazil signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the sidelines of the reception for the Belgian delegation at the UN climate summit COP30 in Belém, Brazil, on cooperation in green hydrogen. Green hydrogen, generated in Brazil, will flow to Belgium in the future, and Belgium will, in turn, use its know-how […]
November 19, 2025
Belgium ranks 37th on the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI), the annual ranking of climate performance by environmental NGOs. This means the country has dropped two places compared to last year. The CCPI evaluates the climate‐mitigation performance of 63 countries plus the European Union (EU) — together covering more than 90 % of global greenhouse […]
November 18, 2025
On Monday, the Flemish Road Safety Foundation (Vlaamse Stichting Verkeerskunde, VSV) and the federal road police launched a campaign in Gentbrugge to increase seat belt use among truck drivers. Not an unnecessary campaign, it turns out, because one in nine truck drivers seldom buckles up. The campaign’s slogan in Dutch is “Een echte draagt ‘m” […]
November 18, 2025
Six out of ten people involved in a traffic accident experience symptoms of depression afterwards. In 4 out of 10 cases, these symptoms even persist 10 years later. The Flemish Traffic Safety Institute Vias reached this conclusion after surveying around fifty traffic victims and the same number of family members. This was in the context […]
November 14, 2025
In July 2026, the students of the Innoptus Solar Team (KU Leuven) will travel to the United States to participate in the American Solar Challenge. After a strong performance and third place in Australia in August 2025, the Belgian team wants to showcase Belgian innovation in America. For the first time, the Belgians are participating in […]
November 14, 2025
The European Parliament on Thursday backed a target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2040 compared with 1990 levels, broadly aligning with the position agreed earlier by EU member states. 379 MEPs voted in favor, 248 against. The 2040 target is now legally enshrined as an intermediate step towards 2050, when the EU […]
November 14, 2025
Despite the popularity of the (electric) bicycle, the car remains the Belgian’s favourite means of transport. Its share in our transport has generally remained stable over the past 25 years. However, the use of bicycles, especially e-bikes, continues to increase, as shown by the new, large-scale survey by the Federal Public Service Mobility and Transport, conducted from […]
November 13, 2025
Electricity will become an increasingly important energy source over the next ten years, according to the International Energy Agency. The agency expects electricity demand to grow by at least 40 percent between now and 2035. We will use more and more electricity for air conditioning, industry, electric mobility, data centers, and electric heating. The switch […]
November 12, 2025
If current trends continue, the demand for air conditioning could triple by 2050. This is the warning from the Global Cooling Watch 2050 study, published by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) on the sidelines of COP30, the UN climate summit that started on Monday in Belem, Brazil. The increase is thought to be due to population […]
