From 10 to 19 January, Brussels Expo welcomes interesting debuts, including Leapmotor and BYD
Brussels is the capital of the European automobile. It is happening this year but only for a few days, from 10 to 19 January. And, ironically, it is taking place in the same Brussels that, in its institutional capacity as the European Commission, has little understanding of car manufacturers.
The Motor Show in the Belgian city has a history of 101 editions, but in 2025 it will be of international importance thanks to a series of coincidences such as: the closure of the Geneva Motor Show, the choice of Brussels as the venue for the Car of the Year award and, most importantly, the return in a big way of the Stellantis Group, which has a new European boss – Jean Philippe Imparato – who really believes in motor shows and wants to show all his cars.
Hence the record number of official participants: 63 brands present, 7 world premieres and 14 European premieres. These are the brands in the spotlight: Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Alpine, Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Bentley, Bugatti, BYD, Citron, Corvette, Cupra, Dacia, DS, Ferrari, Fiat, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Jeep, Kia, Lancia, Lamborghini, Leapmotor, Lexus, Mazda, Mercedes, MG, MINI, Opel, Peugeot, Porsche, Renault, Skoda, Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo.
The Stellantis Group plays the starring role with no less than 53 models, including Leapmotor, which brings the T03 electric city car and the C10 electric SUV to its European debut.
Then there is Abarth with the 600e, Alfa Romeo with the Junior Q4 and the new Intensa trim, Citroen showcasing the C3 Aircross, DS presenting the new flagship N°8, Fiat the Grande Panda, Lancia the Ypsilon HF and Opel the Grandland, Frontera and Mokka. Other models at the Brussels Motor Show include Alpine’s compact electric sports car, the A290, and the electric Twingo, which has already been seen, but is showing off its interior for the first time.
DS N°8
The interior of the Renault Twingo E-Tech Electric
Alfa Romeo at the Brussels Motor Show 2025
Audi, which will close its well-known factory in Brussels on 28 February, presents the Audi RS6 Avant Performance. Toyota, which has its European headquarters in this city, presents the Urban Cruiser; Hyundai brings the Inster and the Ioniq 9; Skoda, the restyled Enyaq; Kia, the EV3, one of the finalists for the Car of The Year 2025 award, an occasion that drove the presence of the nominated manufacturers and which saw the Renault 5 E-Tech win.
La Renault 5 è Car of the Year 2025
Also in the spotlight is another Chinese product: the BYD Atto 2, which will go on sale in early 2025 and will be produced in Europe (in Hungary), a piece of information that brings to mind the diatribe on European duties against Chinese-produced electric cars and more generally on the tug-of-war over CO2 fines.
Toyota Urban Cruiser at the Brussels Motor Show 2025
BYD Act 2 at the Brussels Show 2025
The fact that so many companies are present at the Brussels show as never before leads one to think that there is an interest in physically approaching those who have to make decisions in Europe, but all the players involved deny any contact or official meetings.
After all, in the coming days the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will formally launch the ‘Strategic Dialogue on the Future of the Automotive Industry in Europe’ with the manufacturers.
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