The Braunschweig Higher Regional Court opened on Monday a trial against VW with hearing VW customers who are seeking refunds on the full purchase price of their car. According to the German Justice Ministry, some 446,000 plaintiffs have joined the class action lawsuit, which is jointly organized by the Federation of German Consumer Organizations (vzbv) and the country's largest motoring club, ADAC.

The British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) has set strike dates for UK-based Ryanair pilots following an industrial action vote. Decision comes after ballot saw 80% vote in favour of strike action on a 72% turnout.

The bi-annual Paris Air Show opened last Monday with Airbus unveiling a new jet and announcing orders for over 100 new planes, while its biggest rival, Boeing, was in retreat as it has to further defend itself over he 737 Max failure, news wires reported. Airbus' new single-aisle aircraft, A321XLR, will have a longer range than other variants of its popular A321neo, and will enter service in 2023.

France was taken by surprise by the Dutch government's sudden purchase of a 12.68% stake in Air France-KLM, news wires reported. Late last Tuesday the Netherlands said it was acting to protect “Dutch interests” and was aiming to match France's 14.3% stake in the airline.

European aviation giant Airbus announced it will stop making its superjumbo A380 in 2021 after struggling to sell the world's biggest passenger jet. “Without Emirates, Airbus has no substantial order backlog and no basis to sustain A380 production after 2021,” Guillaume Faure, who is taking over as Airbus CEO from Tom Enders in spring, said.

Egypt opened a new international airport on the outskirts of the capital for an initial trial period, in a bid to ease pressure from Cairo’s main airport and help boost tourism. The Sphinx International Airport, located near the Giza Pyramids and the new Grand Egyptian Museum, is expected to operate 30 flights by early February during its trial run.

Spain plans to propose a ban on sales of petrol, diesel and hybrid cars from 2040, government sources told Reuters on Tuesday, joining a string of countries taking aim at polluting vehicles to help cut greenhouse gas emissions. The plan is included in a draft document for a law on climate change which Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s government hopes to present to parliament by the end of the year.

Hyundai Motor is reportedly getting ready to roll-out fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen infrastructure in France as it is planning on exporting 5,000 hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles to the EU country by 2025. The carmaker also plans to sign initial agreements with local companies to promote hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV), the company said in a statement.

A nonprofit auto safety group is currently demanding that Hyundai and Kia recall 2.9m cars and SUVs in the US due to potential fire risk. According to The Center For Auto Safety more than 220 complaints have been addressed to the US government since 2010 about fires and another 200 complaints about melted wires as well as smoke and burning odors.

Bombardier Transportation’s new battery-operated train was introduced to the German public this week, on the company's Hennigsdorf site near Berlin. The “electro-hybrid” train, dubbed Bombardier Talent 3, is the latest of its kind to debut in Germany and the first to enter passenger services in Europe for more than 60 years. With three carriages and a driver, the Talent 3’s  maiden trip was in Berlin, where it was developed by the company.