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Fully electric cars reached a 20% share of the EU market in the first five months of 2026, according to the ACEA, up from 15.3% a year earlier, with 950,521 BEVs registered. EV share has grown roughly tenfold since 2019. Hybrids are now the most popular choice at 37.8%, while petrol has fallen to 22.4% and diesel to 7.6%. Overall EU registrations are up 4% year-to-date.

Exhaust specialist Milltek Sport has revealed a widebody kit for the Alpine A290 and its Renault 5 twin, previewed at the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2026. It adds fender flares, aluminium side skirts, a roof spoiler, a sharper light signature and a modified charging-port cover for a Renault 5 Turbo look, and is fully reversible with no adhesive residue. There are no power changes, and Milltek is gauging demand at an intended price of around 2,500 euro.

DS has revealed the N°7 Élysée, the new official state car of the French President, which joined the Élysée Palace fleet at the 14 July 2026 Bastille Day parade. It is a fully armoured, 100% electric E-TENSE with a dual-motor all-wheel-drive system making 350 hp and a 97.2 kWh battery. The chassis is stretched 25 cm for a redesigned rear cabin, and it wears an exclusive Bleu Liberté paint over an interior of Alcantara, Nappa leather and ash wood.

The FIA World Endurance Championship is poised to revise the end of its 2026 calendar for a second time, drawing up a contingency plan to replace the planned Qatar and Bahrain rounds with races at Barcelona and Monza because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The plan, shown to teams at Interlagos, is expected to need ratification at the FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting believed to be around 23 July. Both European events would be six-hour races awarding the standard 25 points for a win.

Autoworld's Icons of the 90s exhibition celebrates 1990s car culture in the Parc du Cinquantenaire in Brussels, running from 8 July to 6 September 2026 with adult tickets from €17. The line-up spans everyday heroes and hot hatches like the Renault Clio Williams, Japanese legends including the Toyota Supra and Nissan Skyline GT-R, and supercars such as the Ferrari F50 and Lamborghini Diablo VT. Around 15 motorcycles and a full 90s pop-culture backdrop, from MTV to early mobile phones, complete the show.

Do you remember the Citroen Berlingo Coupe de Plage? At the 1996 Paris Salon, Citroen showed three concept versions of its new Berlingo, and Bertone built this one as a joyful two-seat beach car. It had an open pickup bed, fold-out reclining beach chairs on reinforced pillars, a surfboard roof rack, folding shelves for a cooler and external speakers for the radio, all powered by a 103 hp 1.8-litre Xantia engine. It never reached production, but it remains one of the most charming what-ifs of the decade.

Bugatti has inaugurated La Manufacture, a purpose-built facility in Molsheim, Alsace, dedicated to the Bugatti Tourbillon. Opened on 2 July 2026 and built in less than a year, the 3,245-square-metre hall handles pre-assembly, quality control, polishing and painting, with capacity for up to 200 cars a year. CEO Mate Rimac called Molsheim the brand's center of gravity, underlining that the Rimac era is investing heavily in Bugatti's historic home.

Stellantis delivered around 1.6 million vehicles in the second quarter of 2026, a 10 percent rise year on year, after a long slump. Growth was led by a 38 percent jump in North America, helped by the return of the Ram 1500 Hemi V8, while Europe rose about 5 percent and other regions lost ground. Despite the rebound, Stellantis shares have fallen more than 25 percent since CEO Antonio Filosa's May recovery plan, with analysts wary of rising US inventory.

The first Ferrari Luce, listed as Chassis 0, is heading to the RM Sotheby's Monterey auction, offered without reserve with an estimate above $1.1 million. Ferrari will donate all proceeds to The Ferrari Foundation to support educational initiatives. The Tailor Made car wears an exclusive Madreperla semi-gloss finish over Le Mans metallic Perla leather, though Ferrari has not disclosed its engine or base model.

Electric cars took the two fastest times at the 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed timed shootout. Romain Dumas won for the third year in a row in the Ford Super Mustang Mach-E with a 41.98-second run, ahead of Dan Ticktum's Formula E Gen4 on 42.46 seconds and Alex Summers' 1974 Shadow-Chevrolet DN4 on 46.31 seconds. It was the fastest time of the weekend, though still short of Max Chilton's outright hill record of 39.08 seconds set in the McMurtry Speirling in 2022.

Overfinch used the 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed to reveal a one-of-one Range Rover built with British gunmaker Holland & Holland. It reworks the pair's celebrated Holland & Holland Edition into a more formal, tailored design, trading the traditional green and tan for a deep black exterior with gold accents over a warm ivory and black leather interior, complete with handcrafted moorland marquetry and bespoke bird embroidery. Overfinch has not disclosed the base model, mechanical details or price.

Sixteen years after Joris died of cancer at 27, his parents have restored the 1970 BMW 1602 he always dreamed of rebuilding. The car is now the prize in a charity raffle for Kom op tegen Kanker, run with the cycling programme Vive le Vélo. Anyone can take part by texting Vive Joris to 4342 for one euro, with all proceeds going to the charity, until Sunday 26 July 2026.