News

At the ECG AI-Day in Karlsruhe on June 24, 2026, technology took centre stage. Yet, participants agreed that humans will always play a crucial role. …

The ECG Quality Working Group held its latest meeting on 17 June, with broad participation from ECG members, partners and OEMs. …

High oil prices and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have forced the Finished Vehicles Logistics industry to find alternative global routes. Hopes for a quick recovery have faded, and economic growth projections are down. …

IRU welcomes the provisional agreement reached by the European Parliament and the Council on targeted amendments to the Eurovignette Directive as an important step towards greater legal clarity on CO₂-based road charging for heavy-duty v …

Global carmakers in China, from General Motors and Volkswagen to Hyundai and Nissan, once prized the country’s massive domestic market.Now, they are shipping cars out of China as fast as they can. …

The International Road Transport Union says the driver shortage has now moved beyond the normal freight cycle, with vacancies remaining high even as freight demand softened after the post-pandemic peak. …

Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume is expected to ask the automaker’s supervisory board in July to approve the biggest restructuring in modern German corporate history. …

Successful decarbonisation of logistics will depend on a coordinated, whole-systems approach not isolated action or siloed policymaking across different parts of the sector. …

 BYD is close to a decision on taking over an existing European auto plant to speed up its expansion in the region, a senior adviser said. …

What’s changing at EU level …

Today, the Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on targeted amendments to the Eurovignette directive, which sets the framework for road tolls and user charges for heavy-duty vehicles across the European Uni …

The global shortage of professional drivers is becoming increasingly difficult to address. Recruitment challenges are deepening and changing workforce expectations are making long-haul driving less attractive to younger generations. …

Today, the Council formally adopted the regulation concerning circularity requirements for vehicle design and the management of end-of-life vehicles. …

 Renault Group, Stellantis, Toyota, Ford and other major European automakers have spent billions to establish lower-cost production bases in Morocco and Turkey. …

Logistics is on track to become a heavyweight power user …

Volkswagen's plans to close plants in Germany and nearly double planned job cuts to around 100,000 have ​put the spotlight on its unique governance and ownership structure that have drawn criticism from investors for years. …

Polestar ​said on Thursday the Trump administration was forcing the electric-vehicle maker to stop selling vehicles in the United States beginning in the ‌2027 model year as Washington ramps up its crackdown on Chinese vehicles. …

Jaguar Land Rover is betting that luxury electric vehicle buyers will pay a premium for battery power — a strategy that runs counter to competitors such as Volvo, BMW, Mercedes-Benz that aim to sell EVs at prices in line with combustion …

The International Maritime Organization on Thursday paused an effort to evacuate ships stuck in the Persian Gulf after a vessel was attacked crossing the Strait of Hormuz. …

IRU welcomes the progress made by the Council and the European Parliament on new EU rules to facilitate military mobility, while calling for stronger safeguards to ensure civilian road transport operators can effectively support defence …

The planned update to the EU driving licence directive includes an EU-wide digital driving licence, revised rules on health and fitness checks, and additional requirements for less experienced drivers. …

The market continued to benefit from robust consumer demand for a range of electrified technologies across key European markets, sustained by new and revised tax benefits and incentive schemes. …

European shipowners and airlines have jointly urged Brussels to channel emissions trading revenues back into the sectors that generate them, arguing that the current system risks undermining efforts to decarbonise transport. …