September 13, 2023
After a nine-year absence, Brussels Airlines will again fly to the Kenyan capital Nairobi in June. To do so, it will deploy a new aircraft, an Airbus A330, now the airline’s tenth long-haul aircraft. It will also increase the number of flights to the Rwandan capital, Kigali, from five to seven a week. The ramping […]
September 13, 2023
VDL Special Vehicles has produced the first of five hydrogen fuel cell trucks for Toyota Motor Europe, which will be used in an extensive five-year test by Toyota’s European logistics providers. The hydrogen truck uses Toyota’s fuel cell technology. Earlier this year, in May, the Dutch VDL group and Toyota Motor Europe announced a partnership […]
September 13, 2023
On 17 September, the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, like 40 Flemish cities and municipalities, will organize another Car Free Sunday. The entire region will be closed to car traffic on that day from 9.30 a.m. to 7 p.m., making it the largest car-free zone in Europe. The service of the Brussels public transport […]
September 13, 2023
After a few teasers, Peugeot has finally unveiled its new all-electric e-3008. The popular SUV now resembles a high-riding fastback with a swooping roof line. In addition to its new look, the e-3008 is the first vehicle to sit on Stellantis’ STLA Medium platform, offering from 210 to 320 hp of power and an impressive […]
September 13, 2023
The XEV Yoyo, imported in Belgium by VJB Motors in Hasselt, is available to order in its latest model year. To address the growing competition in the microcar class, the Yoyo receives a more efficient battery for more range, some new options, and a revised line-up. The irony is more than subtle. At the time […]
September 13, 2023
On Tuesday, the Members of the European Parliament (MEP) updated the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) to raise the share of renewables in the EU’s final energy consumption to 42,5% by 2030. Member states should strive to achieve 45%. The legislation will also speed up procedures to grant permits for new renewable energy power plants, such […]
September 13, 2023
Californian EV start-up Fisker is ramping up production of its Fisker Ocean One EV at Magna Steyr in Austria from 180 to 300 per day, the company announces. So far, 3 123 customer vehicles have been built, but by the end of September, 5 000 is the target. All these Ocean One launch editions have […]
September 12, 2023
Volkswagen has unveiled its sporty interpretation of the ID.7 sedan: the ID.X Performance. It features a two-motor electric drivetrain with 558 hp and numerous carbon enhancements for the bodywork. Does this show car hint at what the MEB platform is capable of? Remember the Wörthersee GTI Treffen, the year’s highlight for fans of powerful and […]
September 12, 2023
After an earlier decision from last year to move the new generation of the electric Mini to China, BMW is making a U-turn. The German carmaker announces a crucial investment that keeps production in Oxford, the birthplace of the famed Mini, for the future zero-emission generation. Brexit hasn’t done any favors for Britain’s car industry, […]
September 12, 2023
Allego, founded in 2013 in the Netherlands as part of grid operator Alliander and now a pan-European EV network with 34 000 chargers, says it is finally phasing out CHAdeMO chargers as only 4,12% of EVs today are still equipped with the Japanese system. Only the Nissan Leaf and the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV are still […]
September 12, 2023
Smart is in a complete transformation phase. After recently launching its first SUV, the #1, the brand known for its city cars, has presented the #3, an even larger SUV-Coupé. However, Smart is rumored to return to the small, two-seater city car. It could be named #2 and should be presented as soon as 2025. […]
September 12, 2023
Flemish Mobility Minister Lydia Peeters (Open Vld) will break up the monopoly of car inspection centers in Flanders. In the future, drivers will be allowed to have repairs for certain minor defects carried out by their own garages without having to present themselves again for the technical inspection afterward. In concrete terms, the current centers […]
September 12, 2023
Fiat has kicked off production of its new 600e electric crossover in Stellantis’ Tychy plant in Poland, alongside the technically similar Jeep Avenger. The first test drives of the Fiat 500e’s bigger brother are soon to follow. The new Fiat 600e debuted in July and was presented alongside the Topolino quadricycle, which shares its underpinnings […]
September 12, 2023
Dutch fast-charger network Fastned has signed its first contract in Italy with highway managing A4 Holding Group to build a large charging station along the A4 Brescia – Padova highway in northern Italy, close to the Brescia Est exit. It’s the 8th European country where Fastned has established its presence. Fastned already operates 275 fast […]
September 11, 2023
The Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) has approved the operations of a second lithium mine in the country. The Romano mine will be situated in Montalegre, in the northern region, near the Baroso mine, which was permitted back in May 2023. However, only part of it has been approved, so the owner still has homework. The […]
September 11, 2023
The Gotthard tunnel, at 16,9 km the longest road tunnel in Switzerland, has been closed since Sunday. The reason is a crack in the ceiling of the tunnel, which is popular with motorists driving to and from Italy. Chunks of concrete landed on the road, but no one was injured, said FEDRO, the Swiss agency […]
September 11, 2023
In Turin, car group Stellantis has opened its first battery technology center – one of Europe’s most significant. More than a hundred employees will test, verify, and produce new battery products for its upcoming range of all-electric vehicles. As part of its Dare Forward 2030 plan, Stellantis is subjecting the Italian Mirafiora factory to a […]
September 11, 2023
A recent Mozilla Foundation study reveals some shocking facts, and 25 car manufacturers deserve the ‘Privacy Not Included’ warning label in the United States. According to the study, cars have become data-gobbling machines that watch, listen, and collect information about what you do and where you go. While we worry that our connected doorbells or […]
September 11, 2023
Ford unveiled the Mustang Mach-E Rally after showing a camouflaged version at Goodwood in July. The electric crossover is based on the sporty Mach-E GT but takes its sportiness off-road thanks to a modified suspension, underbody protection, and a special RallySport drive mode. No, this is not a one-off show model: You can order the […]
September 11, 2023
The permit for the Airport Tram, which will connect Brussels Airport to Brussels, has been granted by Flemish Environment Minister Zuhal Demir (N-VA). Construction works could start in late 2025 to early 2026. The Brussels Region had already issued planning permission for the Brussels section of the future inter-regional tram line to the national airport. […]
September 11, 2023
From all the foreign brands eager to conquer the European market, Seres, the American-Chinese manufacturer from the same group as DFSK, is the odd man out, focusing on lesser-known local dealerships to import and market their EVs overseas. That often translates into ‘under-exposure’ compared to other Chinese brands investing in direct sales or using established […]
September 08, 2023
Lucien, the bicycle shop chain under the wings of Belgian’s most significant car importer D’Ieteren, is expanding its territory again with the recent acquisition of ‘Fietsen King’ in Louvain. It will be the 17th Lucien shop. Until now, D’Ieteren’s bicycle subsidiary was mainly active in and around Brussels, Antwerp, and Ghent. Later this year, the […]
September 08, 2023
The Global Maritime Trends 2050 Report, commissioned by Lloyd’s Register, revealed that some of the world’s largest ports could become unusable due to rising sea levels. According to the study, efforts to decarbonize the maritime shipping sector and introduce new technologies will be crucial. Weather-related disruptions are already impacting ports across the globe. These include […]
September 08, 2023
British car manufacturer Lotus has unveiled its third electric model, a sleek four-door sedan named Emeya. This so-called ‘hyper GT’ shares much of its technical side with the Eletre SUV and is set to compete with the Porsche Taycan and the upcoming Polestar 5. After Evija, Emira, and Eletre comes Emeya, the fourth model of […]
September 08, 2023
Brussels-based holding company D’Ieteren Group, best known for importing and distributing cars of the Volkswagen Group and Carglass, posted a gross profit of 548,9 million euros during the first six months of this year. That is almost half as much profit as during the same period last year. The central part of the profit comes […]
September 08, 2023
A recently conducted test on 24 engine families within the Stellantis group has convinced the car giant of the longevity of combustion-engined cars. The company believes that the CO2 benefits from the fuel will keep these cars on the road until 2050. After the European Commission opened the backdoor for e-fuels after 2035, several car […]
September 08, 2023
The VW group boss Oliver Blume has shed some light on the future of its most iconic golf car. As prior reports believed, the next generation won’t be a rebadged ID.2 but a standalone model on the all-new SSP platform specifically developed for returning a profit comparable to ICE models. Clearly, Blume is realigning his […]
September 08, 2023
There will be a specific police office, more patrols, and an alcohol ban at Brussels South Station to tackle drug and security problems. These are some of the 22 concrete actions agreed between the federal and Brussels governments, the municipalities of Saint-Gilles and Anderlecht, and railway company NMBS/SNCB, under the coordination of the National Crisis […]
September 07, 2023
“The future of Seat is Cupra.” Those were the words of VW Brand CEO Thomas Schäfer at the IAA in Munich. The German manager made a story official that had been circulating for a while. The struggling Seat brand will be eclipsed by an all-electric Cupra around 2030. But that doesn’t rule out a new […]
September 07, 2023
On Wednesday, Avery Dennison, a leading global packaging and materials manufacturer, commissioned Europe’s largest Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST) platform and thermal storage unit at its production plant in Turnhout, Belgium. The project collaborates with Limburg-based Azteq, an organization that builds, develops, and maintains CST facilities. The renewable energy project contains a CST platform with 2 […]
September 07, 2023
The European Commission calls for introducing a standardized disability card recognized throughout the European Union’s 27 member states. The card should simplify travel and free movement for people with disabilities across Europe, one of the core rights of the bloc. “The rights of people with disabilities must not stop at national borders,” says EU Commission […]
September 07, 2023
With six electric vehicles on the stand, a world debut for the Seal U, and the European launch of its new brand Denza, China’s largest EV maker, BYD wowed the crowds at the IAA Mobility in Munich. In the backyard of the German premium carmakers, the boss of BYD Europe also announced that the final […]
September 07, 2023
The Brussels public transport company MIVB/STIB and Brussels Mobility have launched the new multimodal app, Floya. Now available in the app stores, the app brings together information on the entire mobility offer in Brussels on one platform. Users can thus see all possible travel options at a glance. According to MIVB/STIB, the app Evident/Trafi developed […]
September 07, 2023
Frenchman Pierre Voineau is the new Director General at Citroën Belux, the Stellantis Group Belgium – Luxembourg announced in a press release. Voineau, who was Product and Business Development Director at Renault’s Software République from November 2021 till now, replaces Damien Martin-Cocher, who joined in January 2021 and moves on within the group. According to […]
September 07, 2023
Flemish Minister of Mobility and Public Works Lydia Peeters (Open VLD) has launched a call for innovative pilot projects on charging infrastructure. She allocates two million euros for this. The call focuses on exploratory and innovative pilot projects of a limited scale that can be scaled up afterward: mobile charging systems, private shared charging systems, […]
September 06, 2023
On Wednesday, Wallonia’s road tax reform was voted in the plenary session of the Walloon parliament. Pushed by Mobility Minister Philippe Henry (Ecolo), the reform has been modified. It aims at taxing cars at registration not only based on their engine size and CO2 emissions but also their weight, which also affects electric vehicles. Taxes […]
September 06, 2023
You don’t have to live in Brussels for road safety, and certainly not since the rise of electric shared mobility. As many as 64% of Brussels residents blame the rising number of road accidents on this trend. More than half (54%) of the capital’s residents also think shared e-mobility, such as rental e-scooters, should be […]
September 06, 2023
German railway operator Deutsche Bahn and the Austrian Federal Railways ÖBB will launch a new night train connection from Berlin and Vienna to Paris and Brussels in December. Öbb’s ‘Nightjet’ already connects the Austrian capital Vienna with Brussels. The company intends to launch a nighttime connection between Brussels and the German capital Berlin in December. […]
September 06, 2023
“We don’t partake in price wars; it is unsustainable,” said Thomas Schäfer, boss of the VW brand at the IAA Mobility 2023 in Munich. He bluntly forgot about his company’s operations in China. After a sales revival for the discounted ID.3, Volkswagen’s Chinese joint venture VW-FAW is repeating the move for its sibling ID.4. Today, […]
September 06, 2023
BMW has unveiled a cheaper variant of its entry-level EV: the iX1 eDrive20, which sacrifices four-wheel-drive for a lower starting price. However, the battery pack remains the same as in the more expensive xDrive30, which means the cheaper car also goes further on a charge. Last year, BMW launched the iX1, the electric counterpart of […]
September 05, 2023
Regionalverkehr Köln (RVK), Cologne’s regional public transport company, has ordered 18 more hydrogen e-buses from Solaris, expanding the fleet, which already consists of 35 hydrogen buses from Solaris. The new buses are the articulated Urbino 18 model, which was revealed in 2022. Cologne ordered its first hydrogen bus from Polish manufacturer Solaris in 2020 and […]
September 05, 2023
The transport of goods by inland navigation from the North Sea Port, the merger of the ports of Ghent, Terneuzen, and Flushing, to the hinterland has continued to increase. In five years, it rose from 54% to 60%. The port reports this based on the fifth survey conducted among companies in the 60-kilometer-long cross-border port […]
September 05, 2023
Rome has not gone as far as Paris, but instead of a total ban, the Eternal City, following the example of Brussels, is limiting the number of rental e-scooters from 14 500 to 9 000 from 1 September. At the same time, the city is also implementing new rules to regulate the use of the […]
September 05, 2023
ALD Automotive/LeasePlan introduces B2B car sharing in Belgium with Moovee, specializing in shared mobility. This way, the European leader wants to offer companies affordable, flexible, and green transport solutions for their employees. Cars are stationary 95% of the time. So, sharing a car is a sustainable way to optimize car use. The leasing company offers […]
September 05, 2023
At the IAA Mobility in Münich, automotive supplier ZF puts the spotlights on a new type of motor for electric cars. The I2SM is a variant in the externally excited synchronous family. Still, ZF has found ways to cut its CO2 footprint in half during production and reach interesting levels of sustainability and efficiency. The […]
September 05, 2023
The Renault Scénic is a traditional MPV no more, with the new generation Scénic E-Tech Electric transitioning to a crossover body style and an electric drivetrain. The model is still family-oriented, though, with some handy features and lots of space inside. The new model was revealed at the IAA Mobility in Munich. Some traditions are […]
September 05, 2023
Driving according to the guidelines of a GPS will become a mandatory part of the practical driving test as of October 1st. So, candidate drivers will not only have to prove they can complete a course by following the traffic signs but also according to the instructions of a navigation device. Drivers need to be […]
September 05, 2023
While all eyes are focused on the IAA in Munich, Toyota’s Hilux hydrogen pickup was revealed on Tuesday at Toyota Manufacturing UK’s vehicle plant in Derby, England. As expected, the technology comes from the Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell electric sedan. “Technology that has proved its quality in almost ten years of commercial production,” the […]
September 05, 2023
Mini plays big at the IAA 2023 in Munich with the public debut of the three-door Cooper and its SUV derivative, Countryman. Presented as battery-powered models, the new-generation Mini models come in two flavors but in an unmistakable recognizable design. However, one can’t help but notice that the Countryman is moving toward a more refreshed […]
September 04, 2023
At IAA Münich, Smart has revealed more details about its second model, the #3. Though it shares much of its technology with the boxier #1, the coupé cross-over is the largest car the brand has ever launched and is similarly sized to the Volkswagen ID.5. Smart’s compact crossover will be available to order in the […]
September 04, 2023
Passenger organization TreinTramBus complains about the ongoing uncertainty and lack of clarity about the number of rides De Lijn is cutting. According to TreinTramBus, the Flemish public transport company is cutting supply in some places more severely than the announced 0,75%. The organization also calls De Lijn’s communication “inferior”. Due to a lack of drivers, […]
September 04, 2023
Dutch industrial group VDL has seen turnover from its bus division fall 40% in the first six months, from 251 million euros a year ago to 153 million euros at the end of June. This is shown in the group’s income statement. The division is also loss-making, but for how much VDL does not share. […]
September 04, 2023
At the IAA in Münich, Mercedes has unveiled a future glimpse of how the revival of its smallest range will look like. The Concept CLA provides a new all-electric platform with an ample range of more than 750 kilometres on a single charge while boosting the use of sustainable materials on board. And, yes, there’s […]
September 04, 2023
This Monday, one of the biggest projects of this legislature is officially starting: the two-way layout of Avenue Van Praet, the northern gateway to the Belgian capital. The companies along the canal fear the worst. “Having a single entry lane to Brussels instead of three is impossible,” they say. The road works come on top […]
September 04, 2023
For BMW, the IAA in Münich is some home match and now is the time to show the world a glimpse of its (electric) future, with a wink to its heritage: the BMW Vision Neue Klasse. It shows how the successor of BMW’s most successful model, the 3-Series, might look when it arrives in 2025. […]
September 04, 2023
There’s something old and something new about the ID. GTI Concept that Volkswagen has brought to the spotlights of the IAA in Münich. The name combines the letters from the brand’s all-electric range with those from its hereditary sports badge. But weren’t all-electric go-faster models from Wolfsburg called GTX? Indeed, but it seems Volkswagen wants […]
September 04, 2023
At the beginning of August, Chinese Zeekr, the sister brand of Lynk & Co, announced that it would launch a hypercar version of its Zeekr 001, shooting brake at around one million Chinese yuan or 140.000 dollars. Now the curtain is lifted, it turns out to be pure muscles with 1 265 horsepower (943 kW) […]
September 01, 2023
Tesla has thoroughly updated its entry-level Model 3 with a new exterior look, an upgraded interior in terms of quality and equipment, and a more extended EV range thanks to improved aerodynamics. The new Model 3 will be delivered to the first European customers in the Fall of 2023. Tesla has previously said that it […]
September 01, 2023
On Thursday, the British e-scooter manufacturer Lavoie, backed by Formula 1 supplier McLaren Applied, announced that it will acquire the recently bankrupt VanMoof e-bike business. Lavoie intends to combine and integrate their capabilities “to create a next-generation e-mobility business and establish a world-leading premium e-mobility offering”. The move is part of Lavoie’s global growth strategy […]
September 01, 2023
Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo) is to amend the existing breath test procedure. The possibility of requesting a 15-minute waiting period will be abolished, and the minimum volume of exhaled air will be reduced. Gilkinet has submitted the faster and more efficient measure to the regions and hopes it can come into effect by the […]
