Toyota’s call to include the UK and Japan in the Industrial Act challenges what ‘European’ should mean for auto investment

Yoshihiro Nakata and Luca Ciferri on stage at the Automotive News Europe Congress. (Photo: Automotive News Europe)

Toyota Motor Europe President Yoshihiro Nakata, speaking at the Automotive News Europe Congress in Brussels, has called for the UK, Japan and Türkiye to receive equivalent recognition to EU producers under the proposed Industrial Accelerator Act. He also advocated a technology-neutral, multi-pathway approach to the EU’s Automotive Package, spanning battery electric, fuel cell, plug-in hybrid and renewable fuel technologies.

Nakata underlined Toyota Motor Europe’s manufacturing presence in the region: 877,000 cars and light commercial vehicles produced in 2025 represent 80% of European Toyota sales, spread across eight Toyota plants and five partner facilities, with 25,000 direct employees. The company described itself as effectively a European original equipment manufacturer, reflecting its principle of building and sourcing locally.

In a statement, Yoshihiro Nakata, President and Chief Executive Officer, Toyota Motor Europe, said: “We believe that selected critical partners—for instance the UK, Japan, and Türkiye—should be recognised in the same way as ‘Made in EU’ under the Industrial Accelerator Act. Europe’s resilience is built not only on local production, but also on working with partners to create regional scale and shared success. By working together we are all stronger.”

On decarbonisation technology, Nakata advocated renewable fuels as a key complement to electrification, capable of reducing carbon emissions from both new and existing vehicles and contributing to European energy resilience. He also called for strong implementation of the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) to deliver on hydrogen refuelling commitments, particularly for heavy-duty transport.

Why this matters:

• Toyota’s call to include the UK, Japan and Turkey under the Industrial Accelerator Act’s “Made in EU” equivalence is the most commercially loaded element of this speech. Toyota builds 80% of its European sales volume in the region, but its supply chain and partner network extend across those three markets in ways that a strict EU-origin requirement would disrupt. The argument that excluding key international partners reduces regional scale and undermines competitiveness against China and the US is one that several other non-European OEMs with significant European manufacturing will be making in parallel, and it is likely to find traction given the political sensitivity around automotive employment in France, Poland and the Czech Republic.

• The renewable fuels push is gaining cross-industry momentum that the EU’s current legislative framework has not fully absorbed. Toyota, BMW, Bosch, Repsol and others presenting a coordinated case at the Automotive News Europe Congress for legislative certainty around renewable fuels in new passenger cars represents a lobbying alignment that goes beyond individual company positions. The policy ask—confirmation that renewable fuels can count toward CO2 reduction targets for new vehicles—is substantively different from the e-fuels carve-out already secured for ICE vehicles after 2035, and if granted would significantly extend the commercial viability of hybrid powertrains Toyota has built its European volume around.

• Nakata describing Toyota Motor Europe as “a European OEM” is a deliberate positioning choice in a politically charged moment. With the Industrial Accelerator Act under negotiation and European politicians under pressure to prioritise domestic industry, an executive with 877,000 European-built vehicles and 25,000 direct employees making that claim is doing more than stating a manufacturing fact. It is a bid for regulatory treatment equivalent to Stellantis, Volkswagen and Renault at a moment when the definition of “European” in automotive policy is genuinely contested.