Toyota is asking EU and UK lawmakers to recognise trusted partners such as the UK, Türkiye and Japan in new rules on European content. It also wants more room to manoeuvre on CO₂ targets. The manufacturer says regulation should follow the pace at which customers actually switch to zero-emission vehicles, as Brussels works on the Industrial Accelerator Act and the Automotive Package and London reviews its ZEV mandate.

Toyota has set out its position on three pieces of regulation now being drafted in Europe. In Brussels, legislators are working on the Industrial Accelerator Act and the Automotive Package. In the UK, the government is reviewing its Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate. Toyota’s main message is that the rules should be built on partnership and pragmatism.

The company stresses that it has been in Europe for more than 60 years. It designs, develops and builds vehicles, engines and hybrid systems here, working 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” – Yoshihiro Nakata, President and CEO, Toyota Motor Europe

Toyota says it fully supports Europe’s climate goals. It argues, however, that the coming decisions must reflect real customer demand and stay open to every technology that cuts CO₂.

From ‘Made in Europe’ to ‘Made with Europe’

Toyota backs the aim of the Industrial Accelerator Act to strengthen Europe’s industrial base, but says Europe needs scale to compete. According to the company, the European market reaches around 31 million vehicles once trusted partners such as the UK, Türkiye and Japan are included.

Toyota believes an assembly rule limited to the EU would send the wrong signal to long-standing investors. Its proposals for EU legislators are:

  • Recognise a limited number of trusted free-trade and customs-union partners where reciprocity is full, including the UK, Türkiye and Japan.
  • Phase in European-content requirements, building towards 70% after three years. This would be based on the vehicle’s ex-works value and would count engineering, R&D and final assembly.
  • Apply no substantive automotive requirements before 2030, in line with vehicle-development and supply-chain investment cycles.
  • Set the threshold for overall vehicle sales at 70% rather than the proposed 85%, which Toyota says creates disproportionate compliance risks.
  • Use one consistent set of rules across public procurement, incentives and corporate fleets.
  • Leave fuel-cell vehicles out for now, so the market and the European supply chain have time to develop before localisation rules apply.

CO₂ targets in step with the market

Toyota wants the Automotive Package to keep an ambitious direction for 2035, but with more flexibility along the way. It points to forecasts that battery-electric vehicles will make up around 45% of new cars by 2030, while current rules require more than 55%. The company says the gap is wider for light commercial vehicles (LCVs). It warns that without flexibility, manufacturers will spend money on compliance rather than on new technology.

Its proposals include:

  • A five-year compliance window from 2028 to 2032 to smooth the transition through 2030 and 2031.
  • A 90% CO₂ reduction target for 2035, with extra flexibilities for renewable fuels and green steel to close the remaining gap.
  • Separate treatment for LCVs, with a 35% reduction target for 2030, 80% for 2035, and five-year averaging.
  • Recognition of vehicles that run exclusively on renewable eligible fuels (VEEF) as zero-emission, under a single EU definition aligned with the Renewable Energy Directive (RED III).
  • Regular reviews of the targets if demand or infrastructure falls behind expectations.

A UK pathway aligned with the EU

Toyota welcomes the UK review of the ZEV mandate. It says manufacturers and suppliers need a clear, realistic framework because investment decisions made now will shape production up to 2035 and beyond. It asks the UK government to:

  • Cap the 2030 ZEV share at 50% for cars and 40% for LCVs, with flexibilities.
  • Define the framework for 2035 now.
  • Extend practical compliance options to 2035.
  • Adopt a five-year approach similar to the EU’s.
  • Recognise renewable fuels and consider a UK equivalent of the VEEF approach.
  • Complete the mandate revision in 2027.

What it means

Toyota’s position puts it among the manufacturers lobbying for more gradual electrification targets and a wider definition of zero-emission. The company frames this as protecting Europe’s competitiveness rather than lowering its climate ambitions. How far legislators follow will become clear as the EU texts and the UK review progress.

Facts: Toyota in Europe

  • Direct employees: over 26,000
  • Investment since 1990: over EUR 12 billion
  • Manufacturing plants: eight, in Portugal, the UK, France, Poland, the Czech Republic and Türkiye
  • Toyota and Lexus vehicles on European roads: approximately 15.6 million
  • 2025 sales: 1,229,000 vehicles, a 7.2% market share
  • Target: carbon neutrality across its European business by 2040

Toyota wants the UK’s ZEV mandate revision completed in 2027.

Source: newsroom.toyota.eu