Toyota Motor Europe President Yoshihiro Nakata is pushing the same argument he made four months ago, only louder this time. On Oct. 16, the automaker repeated its call for the European Union to stretch its proposed “Made in Europe” vehicle production rules beyond EU borders to include what it calls “trusted partners,” specifically the U.K., Turkey and Japan.
The timing is deliberate. The EU’s Industrial Accelerator Act and its accompanying Automotive Package currently define “Made in Europe” as made within the bloc’s 27 member states. Toyota, which builds cars in the U.K., Turkey and across the EU, sees that definition as dangerously narrow for a company that has been designing, developing and manufacturing vehicles on the continent for more than six decades.
Nakata’s specific demands are detailed and aggressive. He wants regulators to phase in European content requirements to 70% within three years, delay automotive mandates before 2030 to align with actual development and supply chain cycles, and set realistic sales thresholds. He also wants one consistent set of rules governing public procurement, incentives and corporate fleets instead of the current patchwork.
The fuel cell carve-out is worth watching. Nakata wants hydrogen vehicles excluded from these regulations entirely until consumer demand materializes and refueling infrastructure catches up. That is a tacit admission that Toyota’s long hydrogen bet has not yet paid off in Europe, even as the company continues to invest in the technology.
On the U.K. side, Toyota is asking the government to align with Europe’s 2035 zero emission vehicle targets, establish its own pragmatic 2030 milestones, and recognize renewable fuels as a legitimate path to decarbonization. The company wants a revised Zero Emission Vehicle mandate passed by 2027, giving manufacturers enough runway to plan product cycles.
Toyota is not alone in this fight. Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa made a parallel case at the Paris Motor Show last week. His framing was blunter: Stellantis sells 85% of its European volume from cars built in Europe, and companies that can demonstrate that kind of commitment should be rewarded under any “Made in Europe” framework.
The convergence of Toyota and Stellantis on this issue is the real story. Two automakers with very different ownership structures, product strategies and manufacturing footprints are arriving at the same conclusion: the EU’s current definition of domestic production is too rigid for how the modern automotive supply chain actually works. Parts cross borders, engineering happens in multiple countries, and assembly in one EU nation might depend on components from Turkey or the U.K.
Brussels has spent months crafting these rules as a shield against Chinese overcapacity and a carrot for domestic investment. The risk, as Toyota and Stellantis see it, is that the shield catches friendly fire. Long-standing investors with deep European roots could find themselves penalized because their supply chains extend to allied nations just outside the EU’s borders.
The EU has not responded publicly to Nakata’s latest appeal. The Commission tends to move slowly on industrial policy, and the Automotive Package is still being shaped. But with two major OEMs now publicly aligning on the same critique, the pressure to broaden the definition is building faster than regulators may have anticipated.
Toyota’s next European product cycle decisions are already being made. The rules that emerge in the next twelve months will determine where those investments land.
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