"Made with Europe" - Toyota calls for partnership and pragmatism to secure Europe’s automotive competitiveness
- Toyota calls for a "Made with Europe" regulatory approach that recognises trusted partners, including the United Kingdom, Türkiye and Japan.
- CO₂ targets should be pragmatic, technology neutral and achievable - with a compliance window around 2030 and flexibilities around 2035.
- Vehicles that run exclusively on eligible fuels [VEEF] should be recognised as zero-emission.
- Fuel-cell vehicles should remain outside of scope until the market further develops.
- UK ZEV mandate should mirror the EU approach and timelines; and include 2035 timeframe.
Brussels, 16 October 2026
As EU legislators shape the Industrial Accelerator Act and the Automotive Package, and the UK Government reviews its Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, Toyota calls on policymakers to act pragmatically and with partnership in focus, to secure the future of Europe's automotive industry.
Toyota speaks as a manufacturer with more than 60 years in Europe, where it designs, develops and builds vehicles, engines and hybrid systems and invests in skills and know-how together with European partners and suppliers.
Toyota is not a guest in Europe. We are a European manufacturer, and we want Europe's automotive industry to succeed
Toyota fully supports Europe's climate goals and believes that the decisions taken in the coming months must combine ambition with pragmatism including rules that reflect real customer demand, include an openness to all technologies that reduce CO₂ and embraces the significant contribution of trusted partners.
From "Made in Europe" to "Made with Europe"
Toyota supports the ambition of the Industrial Accelerator Act to strengthen Europe's industrial base. However, ambition must be matched by scale. Together with trusted partners such as the UK, Türkiye and Japan, Europe's market reaches around 31 million vehicles, and that is the scale it needs to compete globally.
Toyota believes that an EU-only assembly rule would send the wrong signal to long-standing investors - a vehicle made in Europe reflects far more than the origin of its parts. It also reflects the engineering, research and development, assembly and skilled jobs behind it. Toyota is calling on EU legislators to:
- Use a ‘Made with Europe’ approach - recognise a limited number of trusted free-trade and customs-union partners where there is full reciprocity, among them the UK, Türkiye and Japan.
- Phase in European-content requirements – build towards 70% after three years, based on the ex-works value of the vehicle and recognising value created through engineering, R&D and the final assembly.
- Do not apply substantive automotive requirements before 2030, in line with vehicle-development and supply-chain investment cycles.
- Set a more realistic threshold for overall vehicle sales of 70%, encouraging localisation but avoiding the proposed 85% threshold which creates disproportionate compliance risks.
- Apply one consistent set of rules across public procurement, incentives and corporate fleets, so that vehicles made with trusted partners qualify equally.
- Temporarily exclude fuel-cell vehicles give the market and European supply chain time to develop before localisation rules apply.
CO₂ rules that are ambitious and achievable – and in pace with market demand
The Automotive Package should keep an ambitious direction for 2035. It must also give manufacturers the flexibility to respond to the real pace of customer demand and market change. Battery-electric vehicles are forecast to make up around 45% of new cars by 2030, while current rules require more than 55%. For LCVs, the gap is wider. Without flexibility, manufacturers will be forced to spend on compliance rather than on the technologies Europe needs.
Toyota is therefore calling on EU legislators to:
- Introduce a five-year compliance window from 2028 to 2032 to smooth the transition through 2030 and 2031; and set a 90% CO₂ reduction target for 2035, with additional flexibilities for renewable fuels and green steel to close the remaining gap.
- Treat LCVs separately, with a 35% reduction target for 2030 and 80% for 2035, and five-year averaging to reflect business customers' needs for range, payload and uptime.
- Recognise vehicles exclusively running only on renewable eligible fuels [VEEF] as zero-emission, under one EU definition aligned with the Renewable Energy Directive (RED III).
- Review targets regularly if demand or infrastructure does not develop as expected.
A realistic pathway for the UK, aligned with the EU
Toyota welcomes the UK Government's review of the ZEV mandate. The move to zero-emission vehicles must stay on track, but at a pace that reflects real customer demand. With 2030 only three years away, investment decisions taken now will shape production to 2035 and beyond. Manufacturers and suppliers need a clear, realistic framework to invest with confidence.
Toyota is asking the UK Government to:
- Set realistic 2030 levels, with a maximum ZEV share of 50% for cars and 40% for LCVs with flexibilities.
- Define the framework for 2035 now, giving industry long-term direction.
- Keep practical compliance options, extending flexibilities to 2035.
- Align more closely with the EU by adopting a similar five-year approach.
- Recognise renewable fuels as a route to decarbonisation and consider a UK equivalent of the EU's VEEF approach.
- Complete the ZEV mandate revision in 2027.
Isolation makes us weaker. Europe has the capabilities, the people and the trusted partners to lead, but legislation must reflect the pace at which customers are able and willing to change. 'Made with Europe' is our central request – because together, we are stronger.
See further information in the documents attached.
Toyota Motor Europe NV/SA (TME) oversees the wholesale sales and marketing of Toyota, GR (Gazoo Racing) and Lexus vehicles and parts and accessories, as well as Toyota’s European manufacturing and engineering operations. Toyota directly employs over 26,000 people and has invested over EUR 12 billion in Europe since 1990. Its eight European manufacturing plants are located in Portugal, the UK, France, Poland, Czech Republic and Turkey. Today, there are approximately 15. 6 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles on European roads, whose drivers are supported by a network of 28 National Marketing and Sales Companies and around 2,300 retail sales outlets in 53 countries (EU, UK, EFTA countries , Israel, Turkey and other Eastern European countries). In 2025, TME sold 1,229,000 vehicles in Europe for a 7.2% market share. For more information, visit www.toyota-europe.com.
Toyota believes that when people are free to move, anything is possible. In the pursuit of "Mobility for All", Toyota aims to create safer, more connected, inclusive and sustainable mobility to achieve its mission of producing “Happiness for All”. In Europe, TME launched the KINTO mobility brand which offers a range of mobility services in 20 countries, and is growing its business-to-business sales of fuel cell products and engineering support. Contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Toyota is working to achieve carbon neutrality in its entire business across Europe by 2040.