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Toyota Proposes VEEF Category to Give Renewable-Fuel Cars EV Status in Europe
Toyota has proposed a new VEEF regulatory category that would grant internal combustion cars running exclusively on renewable fuels the same incentives as electric vehicles, arguing that Europe's existing fleet of 300 million ICE cars could be decarbonised without being scrapped.
By Eleanor Ellington · 4 min read
Toyota has proposed a new vehicle category that would give internal combustion engine cars running exclusively on renewable fuels the same regulatory treatment and incentives as battery electric vehicles in Europe. The category, called VEEF — Vehicles running Exclusively on Eligible Fuels — is intended to recognise that such cars produce no CO2 at the tailpipe and should be officially classified as a zero-emission solution by the European Union.
The Japanese manufacturer argues that regulatory support for VEEF would allow Europe to cut emissions from the roughly 300 million internal combustion vehicles already on its roads, rather than waiting decades for them to be gradually replaced by electric cars. Toyota estimates that at current levels there is enough biomass in Europe to sustain the region's ICE vehicle fleet through to 2040.
The proposal follows a six-month trial in Spain in which Toyota collaborated with BMW, Bosch and energy company Repsol. Around 20 production-specification cars were operated using 100% renewable fuel over the period to demonstrate the viability of the technology. The fuel, made from residual biomass, is said to have no impact on a car's performance and requires no modifications to its mechanical components.
Toyota says the trial proved that such fuels work in real-world conditions and can be supplied using existing fuelling infrastructure. That contrasts with battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, which require their own networks of expensive bespoke chargers and pumps. Bosch's role in the trial was to ensure the traceability of the fuels used — a crucial factor in determining their environmental credentials — and to verify that participating cars ran only on renewable fuel.
Under the proposals, any ICE car designated as a VEEF would have to be blocked from running on conventional petrol, most likely through technology that detects the type of fuel nozzle used at a fill-up. Toyota acknowledged that production of renewable fuels is currently far too low to power vehicles on any meaningful scale, but said the creation of a new regulatory framework for VEEFs would lay the foundations for the industry to scale up.
The fuels Toyota posits as an alternative to batteries or hydrogen are second-generation biofuels made using waste residue from organic products. These are considerably cheaper to produce than the fully synthetic e-fuels being developed by Porsche, for example. Toyota has long advocated renewable fuel, using it in various motorsport applications and partnering with other automotive firms to evaluate it for real-world use.
«If we are serious about reducing carbon emissions as much and as fast as possible, renewable fuels have a big role to play,» said Shinichi Yasui, chief technical officer of Toyota Europe. Thiebault Paquet, the company's R&D boss, said that compared with EVs and fuel cell vehicles, renewable fuels «do not require much investment on the vehicle side, because they're 'drop-in' fuels — they can be used and we don't have to change anything.» He added that the technology differs from 100% ethanol, which requires a different injector and protected valve seats.
Beyond the environmental case, Toyota says wider adoption of renewable fuels would reduce Europe's dependence on imported fossil fuels and thereby mitigate the impact of geopolitical events on motorists. The company is also developing a new-generation hybrid system compatible with renewable fuels, promising a 15% improvement in fuel economy over its current technology. That powertrain is scheduled to make its debut in the new Corolla within the next three years.
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