The Volkswagen group remains in the eye of the storm. Less than two weeks after announcing its reorganization plan (which will affect hundreds of thousands of workers in Europe and entail the closure of factories in Germany), the industrial group based in Wolfsburg must face a new problem affecting more than 2.8 million passenger cars from the Audi, Volkswagen, and Seat brands manufactured between September 2013 and July 2024.

France and Germany are by tradition, history, and commercial volume the two great engines of European industry, especially in the automotive sector, and possibly the two European giants are the representative examples of the state of the economy and industrial trends in the European Union.

The Volkswagen group stars in two of the main appointments of the week: on one hand, Daniel Cortina will be the new director of institutional relations for Seat and Cupra; on the other, Skoda loses its CEO, Klaus Zellmer, who is joining Volvo as executive president. Another notable move is the hiring of Isabel Schnabel, from the European Central Bank (ECB), by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Also noteworthy is the announcement from Delivery Hero –owner of Glovo–, which is backtracking and, finally, Niklas Östberg will continue as CEO, after assuring in May that he was leaving the position.

107 years after its foundation, the English brand Bentley, specialized in luxury and high-performance cars, has presented its first electric car, which it has christened with the name Torcal and which has a truly impressive technical specification. The brand-new Torcal uses two electric motors with a total power of 888 hp and giant batteries of 113 kWh capacity with 800 V architecture and a range in mixed use of 600 kilometers. Furthermore, the Torcal is compatible with a charging point of up to 400 kW of power, which allows it to reach up to 80% of the battery capacity in just 20 minutes.

Renault has done it again. After the commercial success of the electric Renault 5 and the electric revival of historical models of the brand such as the Twingo, the French have now presented the conceptual prototype of the legendary Renault 8 Gordini, one of the most popular vehicles in the history of France and a true myth for rally and competition lovers from all over the world.

In Japan, they probably haven't given much thought to what the name of their new affordable electric vehicle means in Catalan. In fact, it wouldn't be the first time a car brand has christened one of its cars with a funny and somewhat ill-advised commercial name: it is worth remembering the Nissan Moco, Mazda Laputa, Opel Cascada, Opel Manta, Ford Corrida or Hyundai Kona, among others. 

Electric scooters have become another element of traffic in urban areas, but unfortunately there is still a significant number of people who ride them illegally. The Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) has issued a serious warning about the risks involved in riding an electric scooter without having previously registered the vehicle with the DGT or having taken out insurance that covers at least potential damages caused to third parties in the event of an accident.

The announcement of adjustments and staff cuts at the Volkswagen group last week – the first of this magnitude in the 89-year history of the brand– will be accompanied by a historic restructuring of the models manufactured by the group to reduce production costs and maintain the competitiveness of the brands.

With the price of fossil fuels through the roof for several months, due to political instability in the Strait of Hormuz, more and more European drivers have opted to buy fully electric vehicles, also thanks to the boost from institutions, in the form of aid for the purchase of electric cars.

Eleven years after the outbreak of the diesel engine emissions fraud scandal, or Dieselgate, which fully implicated the Volkswagen group, one might think that bringing back a diesel engine in the second half of 2026 for the Golf – the German brand's star car – is an extraordinary and out-of-place measure. This is because the German industrial group wanted to accelerate fully on the path of electrification to leave the ghost of emissions behind, with an ambitious roadmap that planned to fully electrify the Volkswagen brand before 2030, with the arrival of the ambitious ID product range, technological and fully electric vehicles.

The Tucson is the most global (i.e., best-selling and therefore essential) vehicle of the Korean brand Hyundai. It appeared on the market in 2004, although during its first years of commercial life it was called ix35 in Europe, and since then it has accumulated millions of units sold on five continents. Although the current Tucson is a relatively modern vehicle (it was presented in 2022), Hyundai has decided to turn the page and launch the fifth generation, with a design and vehicle concept radically different from the current one.It is surprising that Hyundai does not opt for a harmonious and similar design line for the various models in its range. In other words, an Audi A3 and an Audi A4 or a Volkswagen Tiguan and a T-Roc are different models, but they maintain a more or less familiar design that identifies them. Hyundai does not want to play this card, and the design of a Tucson, a Bayon or a Kona have little or nothing to do with each other. For the moment, Hyundai's sales and market share indicate that the Koreans, with design centers in Seoul and Rüsselsheim (Germany), have managed to hit the right note to attract buyers from all five continents.A larger and more robust model

The new Tucson is a more assertive and robust vehicle aesthetically and visually, thanks to a body with a predominance of geometric and angular shapes, which give it an extra dose of power and aggressiveness. In addition, the new Tucson grows a considerable 19 centimeters to reach 4.70 meters in length and 1.95 meters in width, positioning it at the top of the segment. The idea that the Tucson was a compact all-terrain vehicle of the C segment just over 4.4 meters long and 1.8 meters high is now a distant memory: the new Tucson is a larger vehicle, which brings a mature, sober and powerful image and redirects its commercial target towards the family audience.

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A Portuguese civic platform has once again placed the possibility of withdrawing driving licenses from the elderly at the center of the debate. In the case of Portugal, the proposal (not yet debated in the political sphere) advocates for the preventive withdrawal of driving licenses from all people over 75 years of age, since, according to various medical studies, from this age onwards there may be cognitive deterioration that hinders the concentration and reflexes necessary to be behind the wheel. For the moment, this request is in the signature collection phase, but it has generated an important debate and reflection process around up to what age people can continue driving.

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Europe has a serious problem with its automotive industry, which can be summarized in the inability of traditional European manufacturers to face the arrival of brands and models from China, which are more economical and of a perceived quality similar to that of the major French, Italian or German automotive groups.During the first six months of 2026, Chinese brands have managed to register more than 663,000 new cars in Europe, which represents an increase of 107% compared to the first six months of 2025. However, what is most worrying for European manufacturers is that they already hold 9.2% of the total market, with a view to continuing to grow and gain sales percentage in the not-too-distant future.The rise of Chinese manufacturers – who will almost certainly exceed one and a half million units sold in Europe this year or next – is explained by a product that is comparable in terms of quality and design to that of traditional manufacturers, but at a significantly lower price. Despite the tariffs imposed by European administrations to try to curb the growth of Chinese automotive manufacturers, they have managed to circumvent bureaucratic obstacles by opening assembly plants in Europe (as in the case of Ebro, Omoda, and Jaecoo in the Zona Franca of Barcelona, for example) or by limiting the commercial margin of each unit sold to practically non-existent values, which traditional European manufacturers do not want or cannot compete with.MG continues to lead, but feels BYD's breath

MG, the British subsidiary of the state-owned company SAIC Motor, continues to lead the ranking of vehicles sold by brands in Europe with a total of 180,101 units sold during the first six months of the year, with an 18% increase compared to the first half of 2025 and achieving a market share of 2.49% of the total.

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The Ferrari Luce is the controversial first electric vehicle in the history of the Maranello brand. A somewhat eccentric and disruptive model, which did not win the hearts of the brand's followers around the world, but which over the months seems to have found its place in the luxury sports car market.

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The motorcycle market once again features a motorcycle with the Bultaco logo and name, thanks to the impetus of the Leonart Motors brand, based in Mataró. This small Maresme-based brand has created a subsidiary called Bultaco Next SL which is responsible for the commercial rights of the brand created by Paco Bultó in 1953 in Sant Adrià de Besòs, and which operated until its disappearance in 1983. In 2014, there was already a first attempt to revive the brand name, with a newly created company called Bultaco Motors, specializing in electric motorcycles. Despite creating some models with a certain success, such as the Brinco, the venture was not successful and Bultaco Motors ended up closing in 2019.A bet with a Chinese accent

The new roadmap of the promoters of this Bultaco revival includes a business model not very different from that of Ebro, Santana or Galloper. The plan of the new Bultaco involves marketing an already existing motorcycle, the Chinese Chongqing Andes UT 3.5 Rally, which is already sold in our market under the name 300 Rally thanks to the agreement with Leonart from Mataró. This is a trail motorcycle with a power of 28 HP and only 150 kilos of weight, with a price of 3,999 euros, and which can be ridden with the A2 license. It includes as standard a 5-inch TFT digital screen, a front dashcam to record journeys and LED headlights that guarantee good illumination.

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A few weeks ago, the Parliament of Catalonia approved a motion presented by the Comuns parliamentary group and endorsed by the votes of ERC, PSC, Junts, and the CUP to introduce a new vignette payment system for vehicles that circulate daily on the AP-7, an essential communication artery for the country's mobility that has been on the verge of collapse since the lifting of the old toll booths in September 2021.

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According to data from the Directorate-General for Traffic (DGT), 85% of vehicles circulating daily on the main access roads to Madrid do so with a single occupant, which generates significant traffic jams in the Spanish capital. One of the objectives of the director of the DGT, the Catalan Pere Navarro, is to reduce the volume of vehicles circulating with a single occupant by promoting shared vehicles for daily commutes, through the promotion of BUS-VAO lanes, that is, vehicles with an average occupancy significantly higher than that of the majority.During this month of August and during the first week of September, the DGT has promoted a new BUS-VAO lane model on the A-2 highway between the towns of Madrid and Torrejón de Ardoz, which has the peculiarity of painting the left lane of the road red for each direction of circulation. The initiative is born from a collaboration agreement between the Ministry of Transport of the Spanish government, the transport consortium of the Community of Madrid and the Madrid City Council.This is not a lane with a physical separation like most high-occupancy lanes we know, but it will function as a free-flow lane for most of the day, but it will be reserved for buses, vehicles with two or more occupants, and other authorized vehicles between 7:00 AM and 9:00 AM on weekdays in both directions of traffic, and between 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM heading out of the capital, also on weekdays. At this point, it is important to highlight that this new lane system does not discriminate against vehicles based on their propulsion type (electric, hybrid, gasoline, or diesel) or their environmental sticker, and motorcycles will also be able to use it as long as they travel with two occupants.

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The Alfa Romeo 147 was the last great commercial success for the Lombard brand, with a total of 651,823 units manufactured and sold at the Pomigliano d’Arco plant (on the outskirts of Naples) between 2000 and 2010. Its distinctive, youthful, and bold aesthetic, and a dynamic performance superior to its rivals of the time, made the 147 the last car of the brand to win the award for best European Car of the Year in 2001.

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Galloper was a Korean brand the result of an agreement between Hyundai and Mitsubishi specializing in old-school all-terrain vehicles (with chassis on beams, reduction gear, and differential lock) that was present in the European market between 1998 and 2005. The original Gallopers took advantage of the technical and mechanical base of the Mitsubishi Pajero (called Montero in our market), which offered authentic robust 4x4s at a very competitive price and were highly appreciated in rural areas.

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The entry into force of the Auto+ program and the announcement of a 15% reduction in personal income tax (IRPF) in the 2026 tax year for the purchase of an electrified vehicle are the two pillars of the strategy for the decarbonization of the Spanish automotive fleet. In fact, the Auto+ plan is the successor to the Moves plan and has an initial allocation of 400 million euros. Buyers of an electrified vehicle can benefit from it, with retroactive effect from January 1, 2026, and the aid is aimed at individuals, the self-employed, SMEs, and micro-enterprises. These grants for the purchase of electric vehicles work through a system of percentages classified by the EEE (electric, European, and economic) system. In short, this means that the most important grants can only be awarded to vehicles that meet the requirement of being electric, having an affordable car price (less than 35,000 euros), and being produced in Europe. These economical, European, and electric vehicles will be able to opt for the maximum amount of money possible, up to 4,500 euros and 5,000 euros if they are vans. In the case of self-employed individuals, this aid can reach 6,000 euros, and if they are vans, up to 7,500 euros. 

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