Supersonic is back, the business case isn’t – yet

September 04, 2026

Travelers, aircraft manufacturers, aviation enthusiasts, and those nostalgic for the Concorde are dreaming aloud of a comeback for supersonic flight. Now that regulations in the U.S. are being amended to lift the absolute ban on supersonic flight over the country, nothing seems to stand in the way of a return of commercial flights at speeds […]

Bob campaign sees drink-driving rate fall for fifth year running

September 04, 2026

According to the federal police, the latest Bob campaign conducted in Belgium during the summer has once again presented encouraging results, with ‘only’ 1.36% of drivers testing positive for alcohol. When the first campaign was launched in 1995 – 31 years ago – that figure was still 6.4%. The message is certainly getting through, then […]

Range Rover Electric: a V8 without the emissions

September 04, 2026

Range Rover’s first battery-powered car is a flagship model that promises V8 prowess without the emissions from gasoline. According to the brand, it is a Range Rover first and an electric second. But is that good enough to persuade the wealthy buyers who sidestepped the electric Mercedes G-Class? Maybe the real competitor here is exactly […]

This robot dog ‘poops’ your parcel, while selling you ads

September 03, 2026

America’s Robot.com is proud to present R-dog, the new delivery robot with a friendly face and WALL-E-like eyes, a red cap, and an approachable design. It can wiggle its furry tail and then ‘poop’ your package onto your porch. The R-dog has four articulated legs with wheels at the ends, so it can roll efficiently […]

Leapmotor leaves China’s EV start-up pack behind and EU takes notice

September 03, 2026

Leapmotor has surpassed the 100,000-car monthly delivery threshold for the second month in a row, underscoring just how quickly the Chinese EV maker is moving from start-up status to a global volume player. The company delivered a record 103,129 vehicles in August, 80.7% more than a year earlier and slightly above July’s 101,267 units. That makes […]

Polestar expands the 4 range with an SUV that’s really an estate

September 03, 2026

The eagerly anticipated Polestar 4 SUV adds a rear window to the original concept. The model loses one of its most distinguishing features in exchange for more practicality. Is this car the one Polestar should have launched from the start? Polestar has finally done the obvious thing. The original 4, which is still the brand’s […]

Tesla’s magic trick: more range from poorer rubber

September 02, 2026

Last week, Tesla updated its European configurator to show a WLTP range of 572 kilometers for the base rear-wheel-drive Model 3. Up from 534 kilometers, that’s an impressive gain. Especially because no new motor or cell chemistry swap was involved. Just new shoes from an Indonesian tire manufacturer that don’t bode well, based on initial customer […]

Belgium is Europe’s commuting champion for time, not distance

September 02, 2026

Belgian employees spend more than one hour a day traveling to and from work, making Belgium once again Europe’s commuting champion. But the explanation is not simply that Belgians live farther from their jobs. In fact, Dutch employees often cover even greater distances. Belgium’s problem is that those kilometers take unusually long to cover. According […]

Stellantis reshuffles its Enlarged Europe Organization

September 01, 2026

Stellantis announces (again) new appointments within its Enlarged Europe Organization, effective September 1, as it continues executing its Fastlane 2030 strategic plan. Reporting to Emanuele Cappellano, COO Enlarged Europe, are now Arnaud Belloni, who has been appointed CEO of the FIAT, Abarth, and Lancia brands and chief marketing officer for Europe; Xavier Chardon, who has […]

Renault upgrades Scenic E-Tech

September 01, 2026

Renault is upgrading the Scenic E-Tech electric with new features and services to enhance comfort, connectivity, and electric performance. With the 162 kW/220 hp motor, the Scenic E-Tech electric is now available with a choice of two new batteries offering greater range and shorter charging times at DC fast-charging points. The 89 kWh NMC (nickel-manganese-cobalt) long-range […]

BMW delays agency sales again: if it works for MINI, why wait until 2028?

September 01, 2026

BMW is reportedly postponing the introduction of its agency sales model in Germany until mid-2028, more than two years later than originally planned. That seems strange, as BMW continues to insist that the same model is working successfully at MINI. The explanation may be that MINI demonstrated both the potential and the complexity of taking […]

BYD turns tiny Racco into weapon for Europe’s €20,000 EV fight

August 31, 2026

When BYD unveiled its tiny Racco for Japan earlier this year, it looked like a very specific answer to the peculiar rules of the Japanese kei-car market. Six months later, it is becoming clear that some of its technology could also shape BYD’s next generation of small, affordable EVs for Europe. According to reports from […]

BYD profits rise for first time in five quarters as overseas sales surge

August 31, 2026

After four straight quarters of decline, BYD has managed to reverse the trend. The world’s largest EV maker, which was struggling in an overheated home market, posted a second-quarter net profit of 8.2 billion yuan (roughly 1.05 billion euros). That is a 30 percent year-on-year jump and the first time profitability has risen since early […]

Renault’s new Trafic enters EV van battle: 450 km is only the start.

August 31, 2026

Renault will use the IAA Transportation show in Hanover to take the next commercial step with its completely new Trafic Van E-Tech electric. The van itself is no longer a secret: the definitive production version was shown at Solutrans last November. What appears to be new on September 14 is the opening of the order […]

Lotus’s electric revolution is over, now comes the rescue plan

August 28, 2026

Lotus is growing again, but its latest half-year results also confirm how radically the British sports-car brand has had to rewrite its future. Deliveries rose 39% in the first half of 2026, yet Europe went backward, losses remain heavy, and the parent company, Geely, has had to inject another $128 million. The all-electric revolution is over. […]

Vias: ‘Cars get safer, bicycles don’t: half of seriously injured are cyclists’

August 27, 2026

In 2024, 13,581 traffic casualties in Belgium were hospitalized following a traffic accident. Of these casualties, 3,232 people suffered serious injuries.  That is 7% fewer than in 2023, and 17% fewer than in 2016, while total hospitalizations fell by 17%. The figures come from a new report published by Vias, the Belgian road safety institute. The […]

Xiaomi shifts into gear for 2027 assault on Europe’s premium car elite

August 27, 2026

Xiaomi has taken another concrete step towards becoming a global carmaker. The tech giant, often referred to as the ‘Chinese Apple’, has launched a dedicated international website and overseas social-media channels for Xiaomi Auto. The site is explicitly stating that its cars are “officially coming to Europe in 2027”. More tellingly, the site already includes […]

Hyundai goes all-out: 41 European launches in global product blitz

August 26, 2026

Hyundai is preparing the biggest product offensive in its history, with more than 100 launches and model updates planned worldwide by 2030, including 41 for Europe alone. But behind the headline lies a more interesting strategy: the Korean group no longer wants to bet on a single drivetrain everywhere. North America will lean on hybrids, […]

VW workers fear up to 140,000 job losses

August 26, 2026

Before the summer, VW Group CEO Oliver Blume warned of an additional 50,000 redundancies worldwide, bringing the total to 100,000 once the group’s restructuring is complete. The workers’ representatives fear an additional 40,000 job losses on top of these 100,000, bringing the total number of VW Group employees back from 660,000 to about 520,000 worldwide. […]

Mahle thinks drop-in range extenders can accelerate path toward cleaner trucks

August 26, 2026

Range anxiety is genuinely a more cumbersome problem in heavy haulage than in passenger cars. Stuttgart supplier Mahle thinks the answer is not bigger batteries but a compact generator where some of those batteries used to sit. The concept will be presented at the next IAA Transportation in Hannover, next month. In the truck sector, […]

Chinese brands hit record market share in Europe, targeting 30% by 2030

August 25, 2026

Chinese brands closed in at 11.2% of the European market in July, according to figures from Dataforce. They never reached a higher penetration since their expansion into the EU. It is nearly double the 5.6% they claimed in the same month last year, and it cements a trend that should worry anyone still thinking of […]

Opel’s next-generation Corsa is EV-only and comes in 2028

August 25, 2026

Opel is preparing a rival for the Renault 5 E-Tech and the Volkswagen ID.Polo. But don’t expect it anywhere soon. The new all-electric Corsa is suffering from delays and won’t arrive before 2028. Opel CEO Florian Huettl has unveiled further details about the upcoming Corsa. Even though parent company Stellantis has softened its stance on […]

Suzuki plans to offer an electric Kei car in Europe

August 25, 2026

Suzuki is planning to introduce an electric Kei Car called Vision e-Sky in Europe as early as next year. The micro vehicle is set to debut in its home market of Japan this autumn, with plans to launch in European countries, including the UK, a few months later. According to Nikkei Asia, citing people familiar […]

Renault upgrades its hit R5 before rivals can catch it

August 25, 2026

Renault is already giving its electric R5 a surprisingly substantial technical update less than two years after launch. The headline figure is a longer 430-kilometer range, opening at the bottom of the range. Renault is introducing LFP battery technology in the R5 for the first time, making its cheapest version more powerful and finally giving […]

Chinese-built Ioniq V might land in Europe, but not in Zeebrugge

August 25, 2026

When Hyundai unveiled the Ioniq V at the Beijing Auto Show four months ago, the assumption still was that there was no genuine plan to bring the futuristic-looking electric hatchback to Europe. But Hyundai’s CEO talks openly about exporting China-built cars westward, and the V might be good enough to get an international travel passport. […]

Emergency door handle triggers China’s largest recall action in history 

August 24, 2026

China just launched the largest coordinated vehicle recall in its history. More than 4.3 million cars from at least ten brands are heading back to the workshop because of the mechanical emergency release inside the cabin. Tesla is the biggest single name on the list. Illegal in 2027 The use of electrically actuated flush door […]

Waymo unleashes its Swedish-Chinese Zeekr robotaxi in San Francisco

August 21, 2026

If you hail a Waymo in San Francisco today, there is a growing chance that a Chinese-built, Swedish-designed Zeekr will turn up instead of the familiar Jaguar I-Pace. Waymo has now opened its new Ojai robotaxi to regular paying customers after California regulators cleared the vehicle for commercial driverless rides. The rollout marks a major […]

Genesis presents electric flagship GV90: not subtle, but slated for Europe

August 21, 2026

Genesis just pulled the wraps off its GV90 flagship SUV. A newcomer in the electric segment that is impossible to ignore. The setting, in San Francisco, might seem fitting for a 5.2-meter-long behemoth. But here’s the thing: it is heading toward Europe as the largest battery-electric vehicle you can buy. The GV90 is the production […]

Semi truck comes to Europe: can Tesla disrupt one more time?

August 21, 2026

The Tesla Semi is coming to Europe. Almost a decade after Elon Musk first showed his electric truck with its bullet-shaped cab, Tesla has confirmed it will sell the zero-emission heavy hauler on this side of the Atlantic. What does it bring that Windrose doesn’t already offer? On paper, the Tesla Semi offers the most […]

Virgin Trains gets green light for 20 daily Channel Tunnel services

August 19, 2026

Legally speaking, the door had been open for some time for the British company Virgin Trains to become a competitor to the high-speed rail operator Eurostar. But with approval from the British rail regulator ORR for rail access on High Speed 1 (HS1) – or between St. Pancras and the entrance to the Channel Tunnel […]

Plug Power exit pushes Antwerp closer to hydrogen import-hub role

August 19, 2026

Another setback for hydrogen advocates in the Port of Antwerp-Bruges: The American company Plug Power is permanently scrapping its plans to build a hydrogen plant on the former Opel site in the Port of Antwerp. Last week it was reported that Fluxys is having difficulty finding customers for its hydrogen pipeline network. Due to this […]

Geely launches E2 in Benelux, arriving September 11th (update)

August 19, 2026

Geely has put a firm date on the Benelux launch of its compact E2 electric hatchback. The Chinese bestseller will arrive at official dealers in Belgium and the Netherlands on September 11 and 12, sharpening the European rollout announced earlier this month. The launch date was shared by Geely’s director of sales & network Benelux, […]

Europe wants circular cars, Belgium already has 98% recycling system

August 18, 2026

Europe has tightened the rules governing what happens to a car throughout its life. Since 13 August, the new European Vehicle Circularity Regulation has been in force, requiring manufacturers not only to recycle vehicles but also to design them for easier dismantling and reuse, and to feed recovered materials back into new cars. Belgium starts […]

Diabetes behind the wheel: is Belgium’s licence law stuck in the past?

August 18, 2026

Belgium requires virtually every driver diagnosed with diabetes to obtain a medically restricted license, while neighboring countries increasingly focus only on those whose condition or treatment creates a real driving risk. Yet according to the Belgian road safety institute Vias, one in five people with diabetes is driving without the required adapted license. That discrepancy […]

New Geely chairman An Conghui’s EU push could reshape Volvo Ghent

August 18, 2026

Geely founder Li Shufu is stepping back from the listed carmaker as it accelerates in Europe, handing the chairmanship to An Conghui and the CEO role to Gan Jiayue while remaining chairman of parent Zhejiang Geely Holding. It coincides with a major change in Geely’s international strategy. The group no longer wants to rely mainly […]

Belgium builds hydrogen highway, but customers don’t bite

August 17, 2026

The new 48-kilometer hydrogen pipeline that Belgian gas network operator Fluxys is constructing between the industrial clusters of the ports of Antwerp (Kallo) and Ghent (Zelzate) is facing a difficult period. According to the business newspapers De Tijd and L’Echo, no binding contracts have yet been signed with any customers. The pipeline network is intended […]

UK considers halving 2030 EV target to 50%, but 2035 ban stays

August 17, 2026

The British government has launched a consultation round that could slash its 2030 electric vehicle sales target from 80 percent to as low as 50 percent. But the 2035 ban on new gasoline and diesel cars remains fixed. The British ZEV mandate has its own ladder to reach defined targets. The percentage of new car […]

Oil majors double profits as Europe debates taxing the windfall

August 17, 2026

Europe’s major oil companies have more than doubled their profits in the latest quarter of 2026, reigniting the debate over whether governments should tax part of those gains while simultaneously spending public money to shield motorists from high fuel prices. According to an analysis by the environmental lobby group Transport & Environment, eight major oil […]

Pony.ai and Uber plan over 2,000 robotaxis in Europe

August 17, 2026

Pony.ai and Uber plan to expand their robotaxi operations in Europe, targeting a fleet of more than 2,000 autonomous vehicles. The partners aim to launch services in four additional European cities alongside Zagreb. Pony.ai and Uber began their partnership in May 2025. In spring 2026, they launched their first commercial robotaxi service in Europe, in […]

Germany’s car industry hits 21-year job low after losing 42,300 workers

August 17, 2026

According to official government statistics, the German car industry is shedding jobs faster than any other sector. And the real employee realignment under the pressure of the current crisis still has to begin. Destatis, the Federal Statistical Office, analyzed that 691,500 people were employed in the German automotive industry at the end of June 2026. […]

NIO’s new swap station welcomes Firefly, but Europe is left out

August 17, 2026

NIO has opened the first of its fifth-generation battery-swap stations in China, finally giving the compact Firefly access to the company’s swapping network. It is an important step for NIO’s technology, but one European Firefly owners should not get too excited about. In Belgium and the Netherlands, swapping is unlikely to become part of the […]

VW revives ID. California: has its electric camper finally lost enough weight?

August 14, 2026

Volkswagen is finally turning the ID. Buzz into a factory-built electric camper. At the Caravan Salon in Düsseldorf later this month, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles will unveil the ID. California Cruise. It’s a concept that previews not merely one model but a new family of battery-electric California campers planned for gradual introduction toward 2028. In a way, […]

DAF sources Einride for Level 4 autonomy into its electric line-up

August 14, 2026

Einride has been running autonomous freight for years, but always on its own hardware. That changes now. The Swedish operator is partnering with DAF to integrate its Einride Driver software into the Dutch manufacturer’s electric truck production. It’s the first time Einride’s autonomous technology is climbing into somebody else’s cab rather than building its own. […]

Porsche to form EU CO₂ pool with… Xpeng

August 13, 2026

Porsche has apparently left Volkswagen Group’s EU CO₂ emissions pool and will instead pool its new-car registrations with Chinese EV manufacturer Xpeng in 2026 and 2027. The arrangement could generate regulatory credits for Xpeng as its European sales grow. According to documents from the European Commission, Porsche withdrew from its parent company Volkswagen’s emissions pool […]

Too drunk to drive? Renault wants your finger to tell

August 12, 2026

Renault is testing a new way of stopping drunk drivers before they even move: putting a finger on a sensor could be enough to determine whether someone has had too much to drink. The idea sounds futuristic, but it is not entirely new. Car makers and researchers have been experimenting with alternatives to the traditional […]

Raleigh, Batavus and Sparta owner Accell declared bankrupt (update)

August 12, 2026

The Dutch companies of bicycle giant Accell Group, owner of brands including Batavus, Sparta, Koga, Babboe and Raleigh, have been declared bankrupt by the Amsterdam District Court. The decision comes less than a week after the group was granted a suspension of payments and marks a rapid escalation of its financial crisis. Court-appointed administrators Thijs […]

SAIC-VW’s ID. Era 5X is also bound for Europe; others will follow

August 11, 2026

SAIC-Volkswagen has filed for approval of the ID. Era 5X compact SUV in China. It is Volkswagen’s first model based on the Compact Main Platform and the first fully electric vehicle in the China-specific ID. Era series. It also sits in one of Europe’s core SUV segments and will come to Europe, followed by other […]

Science debunks the ‘drive your car till it dies’ climate myth

August 11, 2026

Scientists have run the numbers, and the result isn’t exactly a pat on the back for the internal combustion engine. A study published in Science shows that replacing a functioning gasoline car with an EV cuts lifetime carbon emissions by 58%. Even if that gasoline car is only a year old. Also, the old “drive […]

BYD’s giant Ti9 PHEV stops 5 kg short of EU’s B-license limit

August 11, 2026

BYD has officially revealed the Fang Cheng Bao Ti9, a giant six-seat plug-in hybrid SUV. It features two 200 kW electric motors, a 66.5 kWh battery, and one particularly intriguing figure for Europe: its maximum authorized mass is 3,495 kg, just five kilograms below the 3.5-ton limit for a standard Category B driving license. For […]

Zero pays new riders as Europe’s electric motorcycle battle heats up

August 10, 2026

Zero Motorcycles is offering newly licensed European riders up to €500 to choose electric, as the American manufacturer tries to expand its customer base, just as competition in electric motorcycles starts getting more serious. Under its 2026 Rider Training Incentive, anyone buying a Zero within three months of obtaining an A1, A2, or full A […]

Belgium blocks Chinese acquisition of helicopter operator NHV

August 10, 2026

The Belgian Interfederal Screening Committee, a body tasked with ensuring that major investments by foreign, non-European organizations do not lead to geopolitical surprises, has decided to block the acquisition of the Ostend-based helicopter operator Noordzee Helikopters Vlaanderen (NHV) by a Chinese investor. These concerns relate to “risks to national security, Belgium’s strategic interests, and possible […]

Mazda is steadily growing thanks to Europe and North America

August 10, 2026

Last week, the Mazda Motor Corporation announced its first-quarter financial and sales results, reporting global sales of 304,000 vehicles during the period 1 April to 30 June 2026, up 1% year-on-year. As the Japanese fiscal year starts on 1 April, we’re talking Q2 here for the current year. For Q2 of this year, Mazda reported […]

BMW’s new i3 cuts 600 meters of wiring with four central brains

August 10, 2026

BMW is starting production of the new i3 this month with a claim that is less spectacular than range, acceleration, or charging speed, but potentially more important for the future of the car industry. Its Neue Klasse electronics architecture cuts around 600 meters of wiring and concentrates much of the car’s computing power in just […]

Daimler Truck adds US factory as tariffs reshape production

August 07, 2026

Daimler Truck is preparing a major expansion of its North American manufacturing footprint. The German truck maker will build a new factory in the United States for vocational and long-haul trucks, with construction due to start late this year and production scheduled for 2029. The location has not yet been decided, with Daimler Truck North […]

London clears Wayve and Uber for supervised robotaxi rides

August 06, 2026

Wayve, a British artificial intelligence start-up, specializing in autonomous driving and a partner of the Uber platform, has been granted Private Hire Vehicle licenses by Transport for London (TfL). This is an important step toward launching autonomous rides on the Uber platform in the British capital. The permits are for several Wayve’s autonomous, all-electric Ford […]

Kia’s first van grabs 37% of Europe’s small electric market

August 06, 2026

Kia has barely entered Europe’s commercial-vehicle market, yet its first electric van is already outselling models from manufacturers with decades of experience. According to figures quoted by Kia UK, the PV5 accounted for 37% of Europe’s battery-electric small-van segment and ranked first in 12 countries, including Germany and the United Kingdom. Electric C-segment only The […]

France targets powerful cars for novice drivers, Belgium may follow

August 06, 2026

Starting this autumn, young drivers in France will no longer be allowed to drive powerful cars. France is banning young drivers from operating a vehicle “with engine power exceeding a specified threshold.” This ban applies to any car a novice driver operates, including borrowed or rented vehicles. The trigger is a series of serious accidents involving young […]

New Audi A2 e-tron turns efficiency into its main weapon

August 05, 2026

Audi has removed most of the camouflage from the upcoming A2 e-tron, but the bigger news is beneath the skin. The manufacturer has released its first detailed technical dossier on the compact EV, confirming that the 140 kW version with an optional efficiency package consumes just 12.8 kWh per 100 kilometers according to preliminary WLTP […]

Renault’s EV boom lifts revenue, but finance rivals car profits

August 05, 2026

Renault Group has returned to profit in the first half of 2026, helped by rapidly rising electric car sales and a richer product mix. However, the figures also reveal how thin the margins on building cars remain. Mobilize Financial Services, the group’s captive finance arm, generated almost as much operating profit as Renault’s entire automotive […]

Antwerp is a diesel hub, but Belgian drivers still pay soaring global price

August 05, 2026

Belgium may be home to Antwerp, one of Europe’s largest refining and diesel-trading hubs, but that does not give Belgian motorists access to cheaper fuel. Diesel produced in Antwerp is traded at international north-western European prices, which are determined by global supply, refinery availability, transport costs, and geopolitical tensions. That global market is now flashing […]

Create a free account, or log in.

Gain access to read this article, plus limited free content.

Yes! I would like to receive new content and updates.