Back to school vibes in the car industry as everyone meets together for the first motor show of 2026. That honour used to belong to Geneva, but since that all got cancelled everyone has decided to replace it with Brussels.

What was once a regional show aimed at bagging company car orders has become a hub of launch activity and a good chance to see where the car industry is at in 2026. 

We’re in traditional motor show territory here – the Consumer Electronics Show has been happening in Las Vegas at the same time if you want to be all fancy – there are halls full of cars and people will wander round looking at them. More than the seven people in this picture, hopefully.

Is that it, just a boring motor show?

It will actually be a lot of people, though – the Brussels show will get over 300,000 visitors during its 10 days or so of opening, which compares strongly with the just over 400,000 new cars that are sold in the country each year. It’s a handy place to go if you’re in the market for a new car, especially seeing as the exhibition centre is walkable from most Belgians’ houses. 

The Belgian market is fascinating (*geek alert*) because many Belgians get company cars as job perks, and the government has mandated that all company cars in the country have to be electric now, so it’s skewing the market towards EVs. Seems like an interesting approach. 

So what made its debut at Brussels this year?

We've already had glimpses of many of the cars launching in Brussels – click on all the links to read more. 

The car that we were most excited to see revealed was the Kia EV2, the Korean carmaker’s new ‘baby’ electric SUV. Ginny managed to get a sneak preview of the car before it was unveiled in Brussels, and she liked what she's seen so far. We'll need to see how it drives, but this could be one of the important cars of 2026.  

Zeekr's new 7 GT was a sleek addition to the launch roster, and the company is very keen to emphasise how fun the electric saloon is to drive. We shall see... 

The new Mercedes-Benz GLB was an interesting car to see in the metal, plus there were facelifts for the Vauxhall Astra and Peugeot 408 unveiled.

Brussels was also our first chance to see the Leapmotor B03X and B05 hatchback models, the Xpeng P7+, new Toyota Hilux and the Firefly supermini. And there will also be GT models galore on the Kia stand – EV3, EV4 and EV5 all got their performance GT badges at the show. Mazda's new CX-6e was unveiled in Brussels too, looking very sleek and very purple...

Any fun concept cars at the show?

The new Citroen Elo concept was a big draw on Citroen's show stand, though Ginny already had a poke through it the other week. The Dacia Hipster was another must see – there are lots of cool details on it – as well as the Hyundai Insteroid concept. 

And what else was exciting?

The king of Belgium (Philippe) normally pops round on press day to have a look at the stands (he probably gets a company car with the job), but we didn't see him this time round. 

There was automotive royalty on hand instead, though –  our own Vicky Parrott announced that the Mercedes-Benz CLA had won the European Car of the Year trophy for 2026, giving out the scores Eurovision style. Mercedes had to try and pry the trophy away from her, though, we'll be on the lookout for it in her downstairs bathroom.

Keep coming back to Electrifying.com to see the latest news from Brussels – as well as all the other electric cars that are arriving in 2026. 

Brussels' most popular tourist attraction, the Atomium, stands just outside the exhibition doors