EUToyota has asked the EU to create a new vehicle category called VEEF, short for Vehicles running Exclusively on Eligible Fuels, and to recognise it as zero-emission. Toyota Motor Europe put the request to EU and UK policymakers on 16 October, in a paper on the Automotive Package and the Industrial Accelerator Act. It is a manufacturer’s proposal, not a change in law.
What VEEF would mean
A VEEF would be a combustion car that runs only on renewable fuel meeting a single EU definition, aligned with the Renewable Energy Directive (RED III). It would be credited for the fuel’s carbon over its whole life, the same well-to-wheel basis used to count electric cars, rather than for what leaves the exhaust. Toyota does not claim the engine stops emitting CO2.
The fuel Toyota has in mind is second-generation biofuel, made from waste residue. Autocar reports that a VEEF would have to be blocked from running on conventional petrol, probably by detecting the fuel nozzle at the pump. Toyota says renewable fuel production is currently far too low to power cars at any scale, and argues a regulatory category would give the industry a reason to build it up. Its own estimate is that Europe has enough biomass to keep the combustion fleet running to 2040.
To show the fuel works in ordinary cars, Toyota ran a six-month trial in Spain with BMW, Bosch and Repsol: about 20 production cars on 100% renewable fuel, with Bosch responsible for tracing the fuel. Toyota is also developing a hybrid system built for such fuels, which it says improves fuel economy by 15% and will debut in the new Corolla within three years.
The rest of the request
VEEF sits inside a wider ask. Toyota wants a 90% CO2 cut for 2035, with extra flexibility for renewable fuels and green steel to cover the remaining gap, and a five-year compliance window from 2028 to 2032. It says battery-electric cars are forecast to be around 45% of new sales by 2030, against more than 55% under current rules.
On the “Made with Europe” side, Toyota wants the UK, Türkiye and Japan treated as trusted partners under European-content rules, with the requirement phased in to 70% after three years. “Toyota is not a guest in Europe,” CEO Yoshihiro Nakata said.
Germany and France backed their own 90% target the same day, without the fuel and steel flexibilities Toyota asked for. Toyota Europe’s response was to welcome the UK’s inclusion and ask for Türkiye and Japan to be added.
