September 01, 2025
With the handover of a 3 Series plug-in hybrid model from the Munich plant to a customer, BMW has sold its three millionth vehicle with an electrified drive. This milestone for the company was achieved through a significant increase in sales of fully electric models and plug-in hybrid models in the first half of 2025. “With […]
September 01, 2025
Chinese electric vehicle maker Leapmotor has selected Stellantis’ assembly plant in Zaragoza to establish its first European manufacturing base. While the car group’s Tychy plant had already produced some vehicles from Leapmotor, Poland has politically fallen out of favour and seems to have lost its assembly slot to Spain. The rumors were growing over Leapmotor’s […]
September 01, 2025
The Jetta brand, VW’s brand for China and part of Volkswagen’s joint venture with FAW, wants to launch five new models by 2028, including four New Energy Vehicles. The first model is expected to launch in 2026, reportedly for a price equivalent to less than €12,000. In China, Jetta is no longer the Golf-format sedan […]
September 01, 2025
BYD, the world’s biggest maker of electric vehicles, is selling record numbers of cars but has reported its first fall in profits in more than two years. The toll of a fierce price war in China’s car industry turns BYD’s strategy into a balancing act. The Shenzhen-based carmaker sold almost 2.2 million vehicles in the […]
August 29, 2025
Mazda has once again turned to unconventional thinking in its pursuit of cleaner combustion. The Japanese automaker, which builds on a solid reputation of daring powertrain experiments, has filed a patent for a six-stroke internal combustion engine that doesn’t emit any local CO2. So no, it is not running on e-fuels. Ready for something completely […]
August 29, 2025
Porsche plans to launch its second PPE-based electric SUV, following the Macan, in November. It will not present a production model of this Cayenne EV at the IAA in Munich, but further technical details of the electric Cayenne have now emerged, showing clear differences from the Macan. Porsche has been promoting the next-generation Cayenne for […]
August 29, 2025
Lotus Cars’ reputation for navigating from one crisis period to another doesn’t seem to come to rest under Geely’s Chinese ownership. The company confirmed to the BBC that it will reduce its workforce at its headquarters in Hethel by more than 40%. The company cites that US tariffs, rising costs, and faltering demand are the […]
August 29, 2025
In July 2025, year-over-year (YOY) EU car registrations increased by 7.4%. Year-to-date (YTD), for the first seven months of 2025, new car registrations have fallen by 0.7% compared to the same period last year, according to ACEA data, the association of European car manufacturers. The battery-electric car market share for July 2025 YTD stood at […]
August 29, 2025
According to a German media report, Porsche CEO Oliver Blume has decided to step down to focus on his role as head of the entire Volkswagen Group. The search for a successor is ongoing, with both internal and external candidates under consideration. The German business newspaper Wirtschaftswoche (WiWo) was the first to report on the […]
August 28, 2025
Stellantis has quietly shelved its first in-house Level 3 advanced driver-assistance program, called Auto Drive. Rising costs, technical hurdles and uncertain consumer appetite have urged the group to pause or abandon development, according to a report by Reuters. The Franco-Italian-American group, which owns Jeep, Fiat, Peugeot and Citroën, had trumpeted its “AutoDrive” programme earlier this […]
August 28, 2025
Volvo Cars’ new XC70 plug-in hybrid SUV will not be limited to China after all. The automaker has confirmed that the long-range model, originally unveiled with a focus on the Chinese market, will also be offered in Europe, expanding its role within the brand’s global electrification strategy. The XC70 revives one of the most familiar […]
August 28, 2025
Suzuki Motor Corporation has begun shipping its first battery-electric vehicle, the eVitara, worldwide. The company hosted a dispatch ceremony at its Gujarat facility in India, where the compact SUV is produced. The event drew high-level participation, underscoring the importance of the launch for both Suzuki and India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Gujarat Chief Minister […]
August 27, 2025
In a letter addressed to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, European automotive manufacturers (ACEA) and suppliers (CLEPA) outlined their expectations for the upcoming Strategic Dialogue on the future of the European automotive industry, scheduled for 12 September. The associations ask for a new ‘transformation plan’ to save the European automotive […]
August 27, 2025
China’s BYD has started exporting electric cars from its Thai factory to Europe. In anticipation of the start of its production site in Hungary, the Chinese EV maker uses this bypass to skip its 17.4% excess tariffs. As products imported from Thailand into the EU are exempt from import levies, the new route is expected […]
August 27, 2025
A first-of-its-kind cradle-to-grave Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study by the University of Michigan and Ford, spanning vehicle types, classes, regions, and usage patterns, shows once again that battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) are always the greener choice when comparing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. No matter where you live in the US. Across regions and methods worldwide, recent […]
August 27, 2025
‘Mazda Charging’ is designed to give European Mazda drivers easier access to public charging. It is developed in partnership with the Swiss company autoSense. Its launch coincides with that of the new Mazda6e, which has now arrived for delivery in Europe. The dedicated app is rolling out across Europe this month, and according to Mazda, […]
August 26, 2025
Northern Lights, a Norwegian project for storing CO2 under the seabed, has stored its first quantities of carbon dioxide. The international consortium, involving energy companies Equinor, Shell, and TotalEnergies, is the world’s first commercial carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and storage service (CCS). “We have reached an exciting milestone: We now injected and stored the very first […]
August 26, 2025
Mercedes-AMG has pushed the limits of zero-emission performance with its GT XX concept, the forerunner of the brand’s first purely electric sports car. The futuristic four-door saloon has effectively driven the circumference of the Earth, without ever leaving southern Italy. Over the course of just over a week, two prototypes of the GT XX circled […]
August 26, 2025
German car manufacturer Opel, part of the Stellantis Group, has cancelled its plans to sell only electric vehicles in Europe from 2028. The Rüsselsheim-based German company said on Monday that it will continue to rely on its current “multi-energy” strategy, delivering vehicles powered by batteries, plug-in hybrids, or combustion engines, until customer demand changes. No […]
August 26, 2025
The EU and the US have signed a joint statement to retroactively reduce US tariffs on cars and car parts from 27.5% to 15%. The reductions were technically part of an agreement in July, but were never implemented. That will now change. After weeks of uncertainty following the political agreement between European Commission President Ursula […]
August 25, 2025
A few weeks ago, General Motors unveiled the brand-new Buick Electra Orbit Concept globally, “a new design exploration that fuses Buick heritage with futuristic EV technology”. The automaker unveiled the Buick Electra Orbit Concept in early August in Shanghai, where the concept prototype was conceived and developed by GM China’s Advanced Design Center to inspire […]
August 25, 2025
Hyundai and sister brand Kia have forged an unprecedented alliance with South Korea’s three largest battery producers in a bid to strengthen electric vehicle safety and restore the nation’s competitive edge against China’s growing dominance. At Hyundai’s Namyang R&D Center, both automakers signed a memorandum of understanding with LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI, and SK […]
August 25, 2025
We already knew that Nissan would also have its version of Renault’s smallest EV, the Twingo, coming in 2026. After earlier rumors suggesting that Nissan might revive the Pixo badge, it now seems that the small electric city car will be called Wave. After redesigning the Alliance, Renault and Nissan are leveraging their agreement to […]
August 22, 2025
The German start-up Voltfang, which repurposes electric vehicle (EV) batteries for stationary battery energy storage systems (BESS), opened its first factory on Tuesday. Old electric car batteries – typically those still retaining at least 80% of their original capacity – will be given a new life as a renewable energy storage facility. Businesses and households […]
August 22, 2025
Windrose Technology, the Chinese electric truck developer headquartered in Antwerp, might face insolvency. One of its senior executives publicly accused the company of failing to pay employees, while staging misleading announcements. Windrose’s Director of Customer Success and Operations, Kyle Maki, wrote on LinkedIn that the company is now 90 days behind on payroll and has […]
August 22, 2025
The Austrian motorcycle and sports car manufacturer KTM is in dire straits. It has to reorganize and sell its car division to Verlinvest, the investing firm of the well-known Belgian family De Mevius. KTM is known as a motorcycle manufacturer, but twenty years ago, it launched the X-Bow, a barchetta-style open sports car designed to […]
August 22, 2025
From January 2026, Volvo Car Gent will discontinue its own bus transport service for its approximately 6,500 employees. The decision to terminate the private bus service comes as no surprise: only 98 employees still use the service. The bus service had, therefore, become too expensive to continue. Together with the personnel department, a solution is […]
August 22, 2025
Porsche reportedly plans to shut down its battery unit, Cellforce, nearly. According to a media report from the German magazine Der Spiegel, all that will remain at the Cellforce site in Kirchentellinsfurt, Swabia, is “at best a small unit for research and development.” Porsche itself has declined to comment. Meanwhile, the sports car manufacturer seems […]
August 22, 2025
Indian vehicle manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra is rolling out an electric SUV that looks more at home in Gotham City than on Mumbai’s streets. Meet the BE 6 Batman Edition, a limited-run vehicle developed in partnership with Warner Bros. As Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy inspires it, it is very cinematic indeed. And it saves […]
August 21, 2025
Ford is promising more affordable electric vehicles, but it’s still looking to make a profit with EVs. After kicking off production at its new EV battery plant in Kentucky, Ford seems to be looking for customers other than itself and selling batteries to whoever wants them. According to a new report from Bloomberg, Ford’s battery […]
August 21, 2025
Elon Musk has quietly abandoned his brief attempt to carve out a new political movement in the US. According to the Wall Street Journal, he has shelved his plans for an “America Party”. However, it isn’t just Tesla’s struggle with falling sales, lawsuits, and deepening investor unease that has shaped its decision. The billionaire, who […]
August 21, 2025
South Korean carmaker Kia has started production of its EV4 full-electric hatchback at its Žilina plant in Slovakia. It’s the first Kia electric vehicle to be manufactured in Europe, although the factory itself opened in 2004, in a land that has rapidly become a ‘magnet’ for car factories. And there are good reasons why. Designed […]
August 20, 2025
As the saying goes: Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. And with the still marginal market share of electric trucks, odds are that many transporters haven’t yet experienced them in real life. That’s why Scania is bringing its fully electric range to 14 European cities between mid-August and mid-December. As not many incentives are […]
August 20, 2025
Tesla is reversing one of its most controversial design decisions. Two years after stripping the Model 3 of its traditional steering column stalks in the Highland refresh, the automaker is now reintroducing the turn signal lever—at least in China. The decision is not about giving customers options, but instead admitting a design flaw due to […]
August 20, 2025
The Antwerp-based maritime group CMB.TECH is acquiring Golden Ocean, the Norwegian dry bulk shipping company. The acquisition, not a traditional cash acquisition but a merger through a share exchange, was approved yesterday by Golden Ocean’s shareholders during an extraordinary general meeting in Hamilton, Bermuda’s capital. The merger will make CMB.TECH one of the largest listed […]
August 20, 2025
According to the French 24-hour rolling news channel, BFM TV, there is growing concern among Renault staff about possible drone production in France or Ukraine, as first suggested by the government in June. The channel, one of France’s most-watched news channels similar to CNN or Sky News, quoted a Force Ouvrière union representative saying: “Many […]
August 19, 2025
Chinese car manufacturer BYD’s new all-terrain circuit is the first of its kind in China, and it’s pretty wild. It’s more than a test track. The complex is essentially a playground for electric vehicles with indoor dunes, ice fields, off-road mountains, and high-speed racetracks. It even has a pool. It shouldn’t be open only to […]
August 19, 2025
At the event in Emden, where a VW top brass handed over the 1.5 millionth ID. model, VW sales chief Martin Sander was calling for greater government support to accelerate the shift to electric vehicles. Meanwhile, VW introduced a power hike on its ID.3 EV by subscription. First reactions aren’t that enthusiastic. “We need a […]
August 18, 2025
Geely Group’s Livan Automotive has pulled the covers off its latest entry in China’s booming micro-EV segment. It bears a name that is all too familiar to the Belgian public: the Livan Smurf, named after the beloved comic characters from Peyo, is a compact, four-seat hatchback priced to compete directly with bestsellers like the Wuling […]
August 18, 2025
Following Håkan Samuelsson’s return to the CEO position in the spring, Volvo Cars has made further changes to its top management team. In addition, there will be managers responsible for the individual product lines in the future. In March, Volvo’s board of directors dismissed CEO Jim Rowan and appointed his predecessor, Håkan Samuelsson, as his successor […]
August 18, 2025
Volkswagen and its Chinese partner Xpeng have been developing a joint E/E architecture, set to be integrated into the Wolfsburg-based carmaker’s EV platforms CMP and MEB. Now, both companies have decided to extend the partnership to include plug-in hybrids and internal combustion engine models. These will be plug-in hybrid and ICE models sold exclusively in […]
August 18, 2025
A new ‘Center for Special and Individual Paintwork’ is about to be built at BMW Group Plant Dingolfing. Over the next two years, an investment of more than €30 million will enable the construction of a new southern extension to the existing paint shop. Construction is scheduled to commence in September 2025, with the new […]
August 14, 2025
According to Bloomberg, BNP Paribas is in late-stage negotiations with Mercedes over the acquisition of its European leasing subsidiary Athlon. The deal would further consolidate the fleet management landscape after ALD Automotive and LeasePlan merged to Ayvens. Earlier this year, news broke that Mercedes was scouting for a possible buyer for its leasing arm, Athlon, […]
August 14, 2025
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has once again lowered its global oil demand growth forecast for 2025 to 680,000 barrels per day (bpd), down from previous estimates of around 700,000 bpd. This reflects oversupply and weak consumption across major economies like China, India, and Brazil. This marks the slowest demand growth since 2009, excluding the impact […]
August 13, 2025
A new kind of charging station is cropping up in the US — and you can’t miss it. Quite literally. Dubbed ‘EV totems’, these tall poles pair electric vehicle chargers with high-definition advertising screens mounted several meters above the ground. The idea is part infrastructure upgrade, part digital billboard. Blink, the American firm rolling out […]
August 13, 2025
Daimler Truck, Volvo Group, Paccar, and Traton have sued California over its obligation to follow the state’s emissions rules, joining US President Trump in the war against EV mandates. The truck manufacturers want to follow the less stringent federal regulations and disregard the state-level emissions rules that have been in place for decades. In June, […]
August 13, 2025
BMW plans to expand its lineup with a rugged utility model to challenge the iconic Mercedes-Benz G-Class. Production of the rock crawler is scheduled for the second half of 2029 at BMW’s plant in Greer, South Carolina, US, two people with knowledge of the plan told Automotive News. A BMW spokesperson declined to comment on […]
August 13, 2025
According to Arval Mobility Observatory, three smaller BEVs lead the list of most ordered company cars at leasing and mobility solutions company Arval. Although the BMW iX1 remained the number one in the second half of 2024, it has now been overtaken by the Kia EV3 and the Skoda Enyaq. “We knew these smaller BEVs […]
August 12, 2025
The head of German carmaker Mercedes-Benz has highlighted the challenges facing the company in an interview with the German business newspaper Handelsblatt. CEO Ola Källenius, also the current President of ACEA, warns of a European car market collapse if the ban on ICE vehicles in 2035 is implemented. Källenius proposes to drop an actual date […]
August 12, 2025
After 28 years, the curtain is coming down in the Netherlands on one of the world’s most iconic hybrids: the Toyota Prius. From September, the model will be removed from the line-up. Outside the Netherlands, the Prius will remain in production and on sale. The decision draws particular attention as the current generation of the […]
August 12, 2025
At Ford, they’re talking about a new ‘Model T moment’. That’s how important they estimate the venue of the ‘Universal EV Platform’ linked with a new production system that reduces weight, parts, and cost. The American car manufacturer is preparing to launch a family of affordable electric vehicles based on this new Ford Universal EV […]
August 12, 2025
Global lithium markets are surging after the world’s largest battery manufacturer, China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), suspended operations at one of the country’s biggest mines. The shutdown followed after the Beijing administration blocked the mine’s permit to curb industrial overcapacity. The Jianxiawo mine is no small working field. It accounts for an estimated 5-6% of […]
August 11, 2025
Summer is only halfway over, but last Sunday, last year’s Belgian record of 408 hours of negative electricity prices was broken. This means that once again, we generated more electricity than we consumed, causing the price to drop so much that it fell below zero euros. A significant factor contributing to these frequent negative prices […]
August 11, 2025
BYD’s luxury performance brand Yangwang is preparing to unleash one of the most powerful electric cars ever built. New regulatory filings in China reveal a Track Edition of its U9 supercar boasting more than 3,000 hp. Lotus Evija and Rimac Nevera: beware! China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) regularly discloses models ahead of […]
August 11, 2025
Energy company Engie has successfully fired up its new combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant in Flémalle, near Liège, for the first time, completing extensive tests of all essential systems. The first ignition marks the transition from the construction phase to the operational testing phase. By November, the plant is expected to add approximately 875 […]
August 11, 2025
As part of its 2024 joint venture with BAIC, Beijing Hyundai will launch the EO in September, its first EV developed specifically for China. The production model of the electric SUV, formerly known as the Elexio, will be called the EO and is scheduled to hit the Chinese market in September 2025. Beijing Hyundai reportedly […]
August 11, 2025
Tesla will be a no-show at next month’s IAA Mobility trade fair in Munich, a striking absence from one of Europe’s most high-profile automotive events. The German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), which organizes the biennial show, confirmed the U.S. electric vehicle maker’s decision but did not explain. Tesla hasn’t commented officially yet on […]
August 11, 2025
The Chinese technology group and recent electric car manufacturer Xiaomi has hired Kai Langer, former head of design at BMW i. Kai Langer worked for BMW for over 20 years and joined Xiaomi on August 1st. Langer will remain based in Munich, where Xiaomi operates a research and development center. Langer’s exact role at Xiaomi […]
August 08, 2025
The deepening ties between General Motors and Hyundai for the American market are materializing. Their new vehicle collaboration will kick off with a jointly developed electric van launching by 2028 in the US, followed by four additional zero-emission models. The van—intended to sit beneath GM’s existing BrightDrop lineup—will be based on a Hyundai platform, likely […]
August 08, 2025
Lyten, a US-based battery start-up backed by Stellantis, has agreed to acquire the remaining assets of the collapsed Swedish battery maker Northvolt. The company stated that it aims to continue the plans already in place by previous management. The buy-in restores Europe’s faltering ambitions of building a homegrown battery industry, although under American wings. The […]
