May 29, 2025
Almost five years after the introduction of the general 30 kph zone in the Brussels Capital Region, it is abundantly clear that the introduction of that plan was a good idea. According to Brussels Mobility, there are fewer serious accidents and fatalities, and the introduction of Zone 30 also does not lead to longer travel […]
May 27, 2025
The Dutch railroad company NS is going to remove first class in about half of all Sprinter trains to create additional second-class seats. A total of 3,580 additional second-class seats would be involved. According to NS, first class in the sprinter, a train for short travel distances used for stopping services, is only about 10% […]
May 26, 2025
Greenhouse gas emissions in Flanders have fallen to their lowest point this century. So reports Statistics Flanders, based on figures from the Flemish Environment Agency for 2023. Emissions, still accounting for 65,4 megatons (Mton) of greenhouse gas CO2 equivalents, were notably lower than in the COVID-19 year 2020. Decrease of 3,5 Mton CO2 In 2023, […]
May 26, 2025
With sales leveling off last year, Mazda Belgium remains on a steady course. The all-new, all-electric 6e is gaining traction and could reposition the brand in the fleet sector. But despite strong interest, the new model won’t drive up total sales, as key models are aging. Mazda Motor Corp. reported global sales of 1.3 million […]
May 25, 2025
The bicycle continues gaining popularity in Flanders: 18,5% of Flemish travel by (electric) bicycle. In other words, never has there been so much cycling in Flanders. This is according to the Flemish government’s seventh study on travel behavior in Flanders. By comparison, in the Netherlands, 27% of journeys are made by bicycle. Still, the car […]
May 23, 2025
The Walloon public transport company TEC has put the first full electric bus into service. This happened in Liège. The bus in question is a Mercedes-Benz Citaro. The ambition is to be fully electric by 2045. “With this first 100% e-bus, TEC opens a new chapter in its history: that of a cleaner, quieter and […]
May 22, 2025
Chinese carmaker BYD is making another push into the European electric vehicle market, this time at the more affordable end of the spectrum. Its new compact model, the Dolphin Surf, launched this week in several continental markets, including Belgium, arrives with a promise that could rattle established players: fully electric motoring for just under €22,000. […]
May 22, 2025
Last year, 16,403 fines were issued in the Brussels region for motorists who entered the low-emission zone (LEZ) with an overly polluting car. That’s almost a halving from the record year of 2023, when 29,643 drivers were fined. Meanwhile, several citizens’ associations have started proceedings at the Constitutional Court to annul the two-year postponement of […]
May 21, 2025
The Chinese Maxus T90, the first all-electric pickup in Belgium, is getting stiff and rugged competition from South Korea. Neither Kia nor Hyundai is stepping up on an emission-free alternative for the utilitarian market, but KGM—formerly known as Ssangyong—adds a Musso with a traction battery to its range. It will be available in Belgium as […]
May 21, 2025
Three years after the introduction of stricter rules for e-scooters, many Belgians still do not know the most important rules. This emerges from a new representative survey by the traffic institute Vias. For example, 44% of those surveyed do not know that you must be at least 16 years old to drive an e-scooter. The […]
May 20, 2025
Since yesterday, the Volta 1, the first electric tug in Europe, has been sailing in the Antwerp port area. With the commissioning of Volta 1, the port is taking another step towards greening. In the long term, the port wants no tugboats to run on diesel fuel anymore because diesel still causes a lot of […]
May 19, 2025
Airline ticket prices have risen sharply over the past few years, and the trend is not over yet. According to the Belgian statistics bureau Statbel, the average cost of tickets rose by 11,1% in April. That makes you pay as much as 71% more for a plane ticket today than you did 20 years ago, […]
May 19, 2025
Portuguese electric vehicle charging firm Powerdot is ramping up its European ambitions, pledging €140 million to expand fast-charging infrastructure across France and Belgium. The move was announced at this year’s Choose France summit, the government-backed initiative designed to woo foreign investment. The company is earmarking €100 million for France and €40 million for Belgium in […]
May 19, 2025
The number of fare dodgers at the Belgian public transport company NMBS/SNCB is rising. Last year, nearly 700,000 passengers without tickets were caught red-handed at the railroad company. Sudinfo newspapers have reported the news. This is a remarkable 40% increase compared to 2023, some 200,000 more than two years ago. Impact of tens of millions […]
May 15, 2025
Smart energy tariffs are becoming increasingly popular for their flexibility and potential to save costs. Smappee, an award-winning tech company from Kortrijk, is also capitalizing on that market trend by launching a virtual battery. In this service, solar panel owners can stockpile their unused power as a credit that allows them to charge their EV […]
May 14, 2025
The Belgian Nathan De Valck will be the new CEO of Deurne and Oostende airports. So reports the Gazet van Antwerpen. De Valck will start as the top executive there on June 16th. De Valck is currently with the air cargo company Worldwide Flight Services for the airports of Brussels and Liège. The French company […]
May 14, 2025
From January 2028, the Belgian public railroad company NMBS/SNCB will no longer conduct statutory recruitments. This is stated in the preliminary agreement that the railroad unions ACOD Spoor, ACV-Transcom, and VSOA Spoor reached with Minister of Mobility Jean-Luc Crucke (Les Engagés). From now on, new employees will be recruited by contract, which will eventually lead […]
May 14, 2025
Good news for future drivers: all applications for a category B driver’s licence—including the definitive driver’s licence—can now be made online. The Federal Public Service Mobility and Transport announced this on Tuesday. Applications are processed via the BelDrive online platform. The initiative results from a collaboration between the Belgian authorities to provide a user-friendly and reliable […]
May 14, 2025
Skoda is doubling down on the performance EV segment with the refreshed Enyaq RS and Enyaq Coupé RS, which now complete the Czech automaker’s facelifted Enyaq lineup. Featuring sharper styling, enhanced performance, and upgraded tech, the RS variants target buyers looking for electric SUVs with a sportier edge without compromising the brand’s notorious everyday usability. […]
May 13, 2025
Since last week, Belgian car owners have been able to receive their official invitation for the obligatory car inspection in their eBox, an official and secure electronic mailbox used by the government. Until now, invitations to present your car (older than four years) for official inspection in one of the agreed inspection centers were mainly […]
May 12, 2025
In the first quarter of 2025, the Chinese manufacturer MG realized substantial growth in Europe and the Belgian car market. In Europe, it sold 78,505 cars during Q1, a 33.5% increase in sales compared to 2024. In Belgium, MG registered 35% more registrations in the same period. With the noticeable progress of another Chinese brand, […]
May 09, 2025
Flemish Mobility Minister Annick De Ridder (N-VA) wants the public transport company De Lijn to work out a new framework agreement for a planned order of some 30 streetcars for Antwerp. The order is with Spanish rolling stock manufacturer Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF). The price would suddenly be 1.5 times higher, and the […]
May 09, 2025
Toyota has refreshed the styling of its five-year-old Corolla Cross, enhanced cabin comfort, and introduced a GR Sport variant for the first time in the European lineup. The updated model will arrive in summer 2025, with the GR Sport following in the fall. Positioned between the C-HR and RAV4, the Corolla Cross was initially seen […]
May 08, 2025
Belgian railroad network manager Infrabel is conducting tests using liquid nitrogen and electricity, among other things, to control weeds in and along the tracks. It does so with its Dutch counterpart, ProRail, and the international railroad organization UIC. Both rail network managers are looking for new methods to control weeds on the tracks, although the […]
May 08, 2025
Media House newspapers report that Flemish public transport operator De Lijn received a whopping 87,000 complaints last year, 24,000 more than in 2023. This is the most significant number of complaints De Lijn has ever received in one year. The record number of complaints is mainly due to the new transport plan Hoppin, which the […]
May 07, 2025
In April, the number of registrations of new speed pedelecs increased slightly by +0.3% to 1,150 units, and more growth is emerging thanks to additional registrations by federal civil servants and education staff. “The wider access to bicycle leasing for government staff will have an even more positive impact on the figures in the coming […]
May 07, 2025
Retail prices for electric vehicles in Belgium dropped nearly 12 percent year-over-year in Q1 2025. The numbers affirm the ongoing trend of low interest in zero-emission cars on the secondhand market. As the mismatch between supply and demand grows, leasing companies seek to reassess their residual value strategies. Will corporate vehicles become increasingly more expensive? […]
May 06, 2025
The used car market continues to grow, with 63,710 registrations in April (+1.8%, and +18.7% compared with April 2023). This steady growth underlines the market’s resilience, which is supported by continued demand from private individuals. The used car market represents 90.4% registrations by private individuals, who often do not have the means to purchase an expensive […]
May 05, 2025
Uber Technologies has announced a strategic partnership with Chinese autonomous driving start-up Momenta to launch self-driving taxi services in Europe. The project is planned to start in early 2026. The collaboration marks Uber’s first venture with a Chinese developer of robotaxis, and beyond its home markets in the US and China. While Waymo already offers […]
May 05, 2025
Belgium will not be able to submit its National Energy and Climate Plan (NEKP) to the European Commission on May 12th, even though the Commission’s new deadline expires then. According to the cabinet of federal Climate Minister Jean-Luc Crucke (Les Engagés), the delay is due to Flanders. Belgium is now committed to submitting the plan […]
May 05, 2025
Belgian public railroad company NMBS/SNCB may soon collect a bonus for last year’s performance. According to its publication, ‘Realizations and Key Figures 2024,’ this is because it performed better than agreed upon in several areas. Built into the public service contract between the federal government and NMBS/SNCB is a bonus-malus system of up to 5 […]
May 05, 2025
Flemish Environment Minister Jo Brouns (CD&V) is introducing stricter distance rules for large wind turbines. This is reported by the newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws. For windmills higher than 200 meters, the distance to the first residence must from now on be at least three times the tip height. “Flanders is too small to place such […]
May 05, 2025
Should Elon Musk stay or should he go? Many have lately asked this question for Tesla, as the car company suffers a massive sales and revenue drop due to the CEO’s political endeavors. According to American media, the board has actively been scouting for a replacement. A month after reporting a staggering 71 percent drop […]
May 03, 2025
Trade tensions between the United States and Europe may cloud the important summer airline season. So says Lufthansa, pointing to changed consumer behavior due to economic uncertainty. Brussels Airlines, a subsidiary of the German airline group, suffered an adjusted operating loss (EBIT) of 53 million euros during the first quarter of this year. However, because […]
April 29, 2025
Flemish public transport operator De Lijn has presented its first electric articulated bus in Leuven. By July this year, 109 articulated e-buses will be in service in Flanders. The buses are part of a framework agreement under which De Lijn can order up to 500 such vehicles from the Italian industrial vehicle manufacturing company Iveco. […]
April 29, 2025
The Flemish highway network experienced its most congested year on record in 2024. Traffic jams, accident rates, and incident response demands reached unprecedented levels, according to the annual report by the Vlaams Verkeerscentrum (Flemish Traffic Center). As the body marks its 25th anniversary, it faces the challenge of managing a traffic system increasingly pushed beyond […]
April 29, 2025
Chery’s Omoda grabs spotlights while the Shanghai Auto Show runs full steam. The brand took veils of one further model that is bound to be exported to Europe and Belgium. The Omoda 3 is a sharply styled compact crossover that targets younger buyers and competitors like the Kia EV3 and MG4. The Omoda 3 wasn’t […]
April 29, 2025
Flemish mobility organization VAB has again put 45 electric bicycles on the rack to nominate the ‘2025 eBike of the Year’. In this eleventh edition, a professional jury of mobility journalists and a family jury crowned four laureates in distinct categories. Winners are the Giant Expressio E+0 (€2,899) in the ‘Economy’ category with a price […]
April 28, 2025
Dégage!, a Ghent-based non-profit organization that offers private car sharing throughout Flanders, grew solidly last year, with 900 new users and nearly 150 additional shared cars. Through Dégage!, owners can lend their private cars to people in their neighborhood. Part of the costs are then reimbursed to the owner. Within Dégage, 543 cars are shared, […]
April 28, 2025
It was quite a saga, but the new streetcar in Liège went out for its first official public run this morning. After two months of testing on the new rails, the streetcar switched to its commercial speed of 20 k/h. The streetcar, renamed “the white snake” by designer Michel Redolfi, and the new mobility network […]
April 25, 2025
The number of accidents to and from work is increasing as more and more people travel to work by (electric) bike or on foot. That’s according to figures from insurer Ethias, based on an analysis of more than 7,500 recent claim files. Such accidents also impact the workplace, as 41% of absenteeism is due to […]
April 24, 2025
Belgian Mobility Minister Jean-Luc Crucke (Les Engagés) has reached a preliminary agreement with rail unions on issues including personnel management, legal responsibilities, and the modernization of staff status. The agreement with representatives of HR Rail, NMBS/SNCB, Infrabel, and the unions ACOD Spoor, ACV Transcom, and VSOA Spoor may not be enough to also avert next […]
April 23, 2025
Antwerp-based maritime group CMB.TECH, formerly Euronav, wants to merge with Norwegian dry bulk carrier Golden Ocean Group. The merger would create one of the world’s largest diversified listed maritime groups with a combined fleet of more than 250 vessels. A final agreement would be concluded this quarter, with the merger to be completed in the […]
April 23, 2025
Today, mobility platform Bolt celebrates the third anniversary of its taxi booking service in Belgium. Bolt was launched in February 2022 and now offers its service in Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent, Bruges, Namur, and more. Three years after it arrived in Belgium, Bolt draws a very positive balance that reflects the image of urban mobility in […]
April 22, 2025
Federal Public Service (FPS) Justice’s figures show that almost half a million more traffic violations were recorded last year than in 2023. The number of violations recorded increased from 6.5 million in 2023 to more than 6.9 million last year (+7%). In 2022, the number was still 6.2 million. The total amount of fines collected represents […]
April 22, 2025
Brussels Airport will invest half a billion euros in infrastructure to accommodate the passenger growth expected in the coming years. The project involves the construction of a new intermodal hub, an expansion of the departure and arrival hall, a new hotel, a new drop-off zone, and a green boulevard with a park. The investment is […]
April 18, 2025
The Flemish public transport company De Lijn has long planned to deploy self-driving buses, but the plans just don’t seem to be getting off the ground. For example, a pilot project was underway in Leuven. However, the tendering procedure for the framework contract appears to have been put on hold. The ambition to have an […]
April 18, 2025
The Belgian Council of State has suspended the public railroad company NMBS/SNCB’s decision to designate Spanish CAF as the preferred bidder for purchasing new trainsets. The decision came after co-bidder Alstom went to court to ask for it to be suspended. The Council judges that NMBS/SNCB has not been sufficiently transparent in its decision. As […]
April 17, 2025
Staff of the Belgian public railroad company NMBS/SNCB were victims of aggression 2,102 times in 2024. That’s about 200 fewer reports of aggression compared to the previous year, but it still equates to staff being victims of aggression an average of nearly six times a day. The figures are down from 2023 and 2022 (1,900 […]
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 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
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
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 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
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
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
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 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 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 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 […]
