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 […]

MyWheels puts Tesla FSD in shared cars, but driver still carries the risk

September 01, 2026

Dutch car-sharing company MyWheels wants to become the first major European operator to put Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Supervised system into shared cars. It plans to deploy at least 50 FSD-equipped Teslas in 2026, with the first car already in service. But after questions from Newmobility.news, MyWheels is adding an important nuance to its original claim. […]

New Nissan Leaf is the best EV on the market, according to AutoExpress

August 31, 2026

The British car magazine AutoExpress has ranked all 161 EVs currently available on the UK market, and the somewhat surprising (or not?) winner is the new Nissan Leaf. The magazine presented its road testers with a complete list of every UK market electric car available to buy and asked them to rank each model on […]

De Lijn organizes 2,100 trips per day for special education students

August 31, 2026

At the start of the new school year in Flanders, things are traditionally busy at De Lijn because the public transportation company also operates buses for students in special education. In June, there was a lot of commotion because Flemish Minister of Mobility Annick De Ridder (N-VA) wanted to cut costs on those trips, but […]

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 […]

VW’s electric California solves weight problem by leaving kitchen at home

August 31, 2026

Volkswagen has finally shown the ID. California Cruise at the Caravan Salon in Düsseldorf. But anyone expecting an electric equivalent of the familiar California Ocean may be surprised. VW appears to have solved the weight problem that once put the ID. Buzz camper on hold by keeping this first version deliberately simple. That makes the […]

Reminder: Belgium’s road rules change from September 1

August 31, 2026

Starting September 1, several new rules will take effect in Belgium, affecting traffic and mobility. For example, helmets will be required when riding an e-scooter capable of speeds exceeding 20 km/h. In Flanders, cars will only need to be inspected every two years after the initial inspection. Because an inspection certificate is valid throughout Belgium, […]

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 […]

VW’s smallest EV will be named ID. Up

August 31, 2026

Volkswagen’s planned electric small car for 2027, with a projected base price of around €20,000, will be called ID. Up, not ID.1, according to a Spanish media report. The publication writes that VW has already finalized the model’s name as ID. Up. The specifications of the new ID. Up are expected to largely match those […]

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 […]

London police beat phone snatchers at their own game with Sur-Rons

August 28, 2026

It’s a bit like a British version of the heist movie The Italian Job, but with Sur-Ron e-bikes instead of Mini Coopers, because the London police have significantly expanded their fleet of Sur-Ron motorcycles to be able to chase criminals riding the same kind of bikes. The bikes, which are used by criminals in street […]

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. […]

South Africa builds silent electric 4×4 ‘bakkie’ for the bush

August 28, 2026

No diesel clatter, no exhaust fumes, and no engine vibration while creeping up on wildlife. Electric propulsion may be particularly well suited to safari driving, and South African start-up Thula Solutions has designed a rugged 4×4 ‘bakkie’ specifically to exploit those advantages. Its Electric Safari Vehicle, or ESV, is not Africa’s first battery-powered game viewer. […]

KU Leuven students bring hydrogen racer to life for Le Mans bid

August 28, 2026

KU Leuven’s HydroTeam has reached an important milestone on its road to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Its hydrogen-powered prototype has moved under its own power for the first time, completing laps inside Eastech Park in Leuven. That appears to make it Belgium’s first functioning race car powered by a hydrogen combustion engine. The […]

Silent threat? Vias says some EVs are still too hard to hear

August 28, 2026

A recent study by the Belgian road safety institute Vias shows that electric vehicles are more frequently involved in accidents with vulnerable road users. They are involved in 42% of injury-causing accidents involving electric cars, compared with 27% for all car types. Vias analyzed whether the lower noise levels of electric and hybrid vehicles could affect the […]

BYD brings Belgian chip specialist Melexis into its inner supply circle

August 27, 2026

Melexis, the Belgian designer and developer of chips primarily for automotive sensors, has signed a Master Purchase Agreement (MPA) with China’s largest electric car manufacturer BYD. This partnership agreement gives Melexis more direct access to China’s enormous market to sell its chips in mass production, while BYD gains faster access to Melexis’s specialized sensor and […]

BMW sold 2 million BEVs and 3.5 million electrified vehicles

August 27, 2026

BMW’s Neue Klasse is apparently providing strong momentum for fully electric vehicle sales.  Two million BEVs have been handed over to customers since sales of the very first BMW i3 launched in late 2013. Including plug-in hybrids, BMW has delivered around 3.5 million electrified vehicles to customers worldwide since 2013. In the first half of […]

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 […]

Honda won’t build a new US factory without USMCA agreement

August 27, 2026

The consequences of the upcoming trade war between the US and Canada are already showing. A senior Honda executive said the Japanese automaker might not build an eighth assembly plant in North America unless a key trade deal (USMCA) is extended. The Trump administration is currently negotiating with Canada and Mexico over the fate of […]

LIZY bets €300 million on giving used EVs a second life

August 27, 2026

Belgian scale-up LIZY, a D’Ieteren subsidiary, has secured more than €300 million to expand its second-hand leasing model in Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. But the bigger story is what happens to the first mass wave of electric company cars when their initial lease contracts end. The package is mainly debt: about €290 million from […]

Geely is developing a 1,000-volt architecture for shorter charging times

August 27, 2026

Geely is developing a new 1,000-volt architecture for electric cars to further reduce charging times. The Chinese group has already installed charging points with peak outputs of up to 1,500 kW. Its latest charging tests show just how quickly its current models can recharge. In its current electric vehicles, Geely is increasingly adopting 800-volt technology. […]

Belgium’s mobility budget: one in four bites, three in four pay mortgage

August 26, 2026

Although large employers will be required to offer a mobility budget starting in 2027, Belgian companies do not expect a mass switch. The mobility budget may well be presented as an alternative to the company car, but employers do not believe that employees will adopt it en masse. According to a study by SD Worx among […]

Canada-US trade deal has faltered; tariff threats swing back and forth (update)

August 26, 2026

US President Donald Trump said on Monday he will raise US tariffs on all Canadian-made cars, trucks, and auto parts to 50%, effective Jan. 1, after talks with Canada collapsed over the weekend. The deal on the table would have cut the tariff on Canadian light-duty vehicles from 25% to 15%, and the metals tariff […]

AirBaltic will not be serving Liège Airport after all

August 26, 2026

The Latvian airline AirBaltic will not, after all, be launching flights from Liège Airport to the Canary Islands starting in late October. AirBaltic cites insufficient demand, combined with financial difficulties due to rising fuel costs, as the reason for the cancellation. This is a blow to Liège Airport, as the airport had not had a single […]

Waymo picks BMW’s backyard for first EU robotaxi service

August 26, 2026

Waymo is heading for Munich. Alphabet subsidiary will start mapping the Bavarian capital in the coming weeks and aims to open a fully driverless ride-hailing service toward the end of 2027. It will be Waymo’s first commercial incursion into the EU, starting symbolically in BMW’s home town. Initially, there will still be people behind the […]

Renault refuses to kill buttons but its stalks can still confuse drivers

August 26, 2026

Renault says it will not follow the industry trend of putting virtually every function behind a touchscreen. Physical buttons and switches will remain part of its interiors, even though the French manufacturer admits they are more expensive. The reasoning is simple: frequently used functions should stay within easy reach so drivers can keep their eyes […]

D’Ieteren: ‘Second-hand EVs retain 95.9% battery capacity on average’

August 26, 2026

More than 2,500 battery analyses performed by D’Ieteren Automotive’s second-hand car divisions, My Way and Audi Approved, prove that modern EV batteries retain their battery capacity remarkably well.  The average State of Health (SoH) was 95.9% for the entire EV car population measured. The analyses were executed in collaboration with MOBA, an expert in battery […]

Flanders’ truck parking plan: 800 spaces against a need for 1,800

August 26, 2026

Flanders wants to create 500 to 800 additional truck parking spaces along its motorways over the next ten years. But that ambition falls well short of what its own research says is needed: at least 1,800 extra spaces within five to ten years. The expansion is part of the new Strategic Network Plan for Service […]

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. […]

Dreame’s 0.9-second hypercar was too good to be true

August 26, 2026

Four months ago, Newmobility.news wondered whether Dreame’s rocket-powered hypercar was simply “too good to be true”. We now have an answer. Yes. The Chinese vacuum-cleaner manufacturer is dismantling its car business, while former employees reveal that the spectacular vehicles used to promote it were far from functioning prototypes, as Dreame suggested. This wasn’t entirely a […]

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, […]

Copernicus : ‘Sea surface temperature never higher than on August 22’

August 25, 2026

On August 22, seawater temperature (between 60 degrees south and 60 degrees north latitude) reached its highest level ever – 21.10°C, the highest sea surface temperature ever measured. The European Earth observation service Copernicus announced this in a press release on Monday. The new figures even break the previous record of 21.09°C set in March 2024.  […]

Brussels Airport tests autonomous e-tractor for cargo transport

August 25, 2026

Brussels Airport is testing a self-driving electric tractor in the cargo zone that transports cargo trailers between the warehouses and the tarmac. In the past, Brussels Airport and De Lijn have already tested a self-driving shuttle bus, and there is also an ongoing project involving a self-driving e-shuttle that transports airport staff. However, according to […]

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. […]

Major clean-up effort at Brussels North Station yields 5.5 tons of trash

August 24, 2026

On Friday, regional and municipal sanitation services cleared 5.5 metric tons of trash from around Brussels’ North Station, a notorious hotspot for litter, illegal dumping, and street debris. This is equivalent to the amount of trash an average Belgian family would accumulate over about ten to twelve years. The amount of cleared trash immediately highlights […]

Higher CO2 levels make food more calorie-dense but not more nutritious

August 24, 2026

Scientists at Leiden University have found evidence that plants grow faster due to increased CO2. The flip side is that they become higher in calories but less nutritious. The nutritional value of virtually all crops has declined – plants contain less protein, iron, and other nutrients.  The Leiden study pooled thousands of observations across dozens of crops […]

ParkBee app will now also offer street parking

August 24, 2026

ParkBee plans to expand its parking app service in Belgium to street parking. After this summer, drivers looking for a parking spot can find one not only in private parking garages using the ParkBee app but also on the street. ParkBee won’t add an additional service fee; the aim is to ease parking pressure in towns […]

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 […]

Global electric truck and bus sales nearly doubled in 2025

August 24, 2026

According to a study by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), electric trucks and buses reached half a million units and a market share of nearly 14%, largely driven by China’s expansion in the truck segment. Electric trucks and buses crossed the half-million-unit mark globally in 2025, with sales nearly doubling (+86%) for the […]

MG’s €13,500 fastback explodes in China, but Europe is complicated

August 24, 2026

Two months after MG unveiled its new 07 fastback in China, the car has turned into an instant hit. SAIC’s British-born brand says it secured more than 10,000 firm orders in just one minute and 57 seconds after opening the books. Total pre-orders climbed from 45,000 on launch day to 59,000 the next day. MG […]

Genk launches city-wide platform to trade neighbors’ solar power

August 24, 2026

The city of Genk (Belgium) will be among the first to establish an energy community in which residents, associations, and companies can buy and sell locally generated renewable electricity. Genk calls the initiative “a Belgian first for a public authority,” but municipalities including Ganshoren and Ixelles have already launched similar initiatives. For the Genk project, the […]

NMN launches TCO Calculator: what will your next car really cost? (update)

August 22, 2026

Buying a car is no longer simply a matter of comparing sticker prices. An electric car may cost more to buy but less to run, a hybrid can save fuel without requiring a charger, and a cheap used car may lose little value but require more maintenance. Taxes can alter the picture again, especially in […]

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 […]

Transavia turns Brussels Airport into its fourth home base

August 21, 2026

The Dutch airline Transavia plans to establish a long-term presence at Brussels Airport. It has opened a new crew center there and stationed a fourth aircraft. From now on, it will also employ Belgian staff, and the plan is to expand further the base, which currently employs 150 people. “Brussels has become a full-fledged fourth […]

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 […]

Minister disputes claims of understaffed De Lijn safety unit

August 21, 2026

The number of social safety experts at the Flemish public transportation company De Lijn has been cut in half since 2019, from six to three. According to the ACV union and several members of the Flemish Parliament, this number is sufficient to handle more than 2,000 cases of aggression annually, support victims, review surveillance footage, […]

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 […]

BMW shows details of the electric M3 Concept

August 21, 2026

BMW showed its ‘beast’, the M3 Concept based on the Neue Klasse platform, for the first time at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Now, BMW showed it for the first time in the U.S. at the Monterey Car Week, with a lot more pics and details. Officially, the M Concept Neue Klasse aims to […]

London’s ULEZ clears the air and children’s lungs show the difference

August 20, 2026

Air quality in London has improved significantly since the expansion of the Ultra-Low-Emission Zone – an area within the city where polluting vehicles must pay a fee to enter. The ULEZ was first established under current London Mayor Sadiq Khan in 2019, was expanded in 2021 and 2023, and now covers all of Greater London, […]

Judge bans NMBS/SNCB from operating noisy diesel trains at Lokeren station

August 20, 2026

A judge has ruled in favor of a resident living near the Lokeren station in a complaint about noise pollution from diesel trains left idling while on standby there. As a result of the ruling, the Belgian railway company NMBS/SNCB must adjust its schedule for trains serving Lokeren, the Ghent region, and Ronse, and vice […]

BMW to review model lineup

August 20, 2026

BMW is expected to drop niche models from its lineup, including the large XM plug-in hybrid and the 8 Series, as the Munich car manufacturer seeks to reduce costs while rolling out the Neue Klasse technology platform across some 40 models by the end of 2027. BMW Group’s new CEO, Milan Nedeljkovic, is reviewing BMW’s […]

Ghent loses its Volvo plant boss but gains an ally at the top

August 20, 2026

Volvo Car Gent has to start looking for a new plant director less than a year after Magnus Nilsson took charge. But his departure may be better news for the Belgian factory than it first appears. From September 1, Nilsson becomes Volvo Cars’ Chief Manufacturing Officer and joins the Executive Management Team, just as Ghent […]

Einride orders 500 Tesla Semi trucks through partnership deal with Tesla

August 20, 2026

Einride, a provider specializing in electric and autonomous freight transport, wants to expand its electric fleet in the US with 500 Tesla Semi trucks. The battery-powered trucks are to be used, among other things, for Amazon’s logistics operations. Einride has announced a partnership with Tesla to prepare for the “world’s largest Tesla Semi deployment.” The […]

Belgium’s EV lobby wants social leasing, but who should foot the bill?

August 20, 2026

Belgium’s EV sector is urging the federal government to launch a social-leasing scheme for electric cars from 2027, with both new and used EVs eligible. Sector federation EV Belgium says lower-income households that depend on a car for work should have access to affordable financing, allowing them to benefit from lower running costs rather than […]

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 […]

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