Like many of us, Toyota wants Europe to leave room in new car dealerships for internal-combustion engines, and it has a fairly bold suggestion for how to do it: cars running exclusively on qualifying renewable fuels, the company announced Friday, should count as zero-emission vehicles. Yes, even with an engine burning fuel under the hood.
Toyota calls this a request for “partnership and pragmatism.” Specifically, it wants European regulators to accept the idea under a common definition aligned with the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive. The important word here is “exclusively.” This isn’t a request to give every gasoline car a green badge because its owner occasionally buys a different kind of gas; it’s asking if cars that only ever run on eligible fuels could get that zero-emission tag.
The timing is key, because Europe is already reconsidering its combustion-engine endgame. Current rules call for a 100-percent reduction in fleet CO2 emissions for new cars and vans from 2035 onward, but the European Commission has alternatively proposed a 90-percent reduction, with the remaining emissions compensated through qualifying fuels or European low-carbon steel. If accepted, it would leave a little room for combustion engines beyond 2035. Toyota wants renewable-fuel vehicles recognized as zero-emission rides within that broader debate.
That said, changing how a vehicle counts on a compliance sheet certainly won’t stop it from actually emitting CO2, even if that CO2 is, in theory, carbon-neutral or close to it. To Toyota’s credit, it is doing more than asking lawmakers to take its word for what goes into the tank. In July, Toyota, BMW, Bosch, and Repsol launched a six-month Spanish pilot involving around 20 vehicles running on Repsol’s 100-percent renewable gasoline.
Bosch supplies the digital tracking system, which uses information from vehicles, filling stations, and fuel-card transactions to verify renewable-fuel use. The trial is meant to prove that existing cars and refueling infrastructure can support the approach. Even if successful, however, it doesn’t mean that an entire continent could make the switch quickly.
Finally, it’s worth pointing out at least one potential issue here: how would regulators know a renewable-fuel vehicle always exclusively uses renewable fuel? If owners decide to use something different, it could put a big kink in the entire purpose. Toyota might need to sort out a solution there before it gets regulators fully on its side; still, it’s good to see such this automotive powerhouse trying to find some way to keep internal-combustion power around.
Source: www.roadandtrack.com
