On 12 October 2018, the European Commission stated that the use of a harmonised set of fuel labels will be compulsory on newly produced vehicles and at all filling stations, as well as at vehicle dealerships.

The initiative is taken on the basis of Article 7 of Directive 2014/94/EU on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure, that requires that EU Member States and EEA States shall ensure that relevant, consistent and clear information is made available as regards those motor vehicles which can be regularly fuelled with individual fuels placed on the market, or recharged by recharging points. The growing diversity of fuels available on the market implies in fact an increasing need to provide drivers with clear and straightforward information on the compatibility of the fuels sold at filling stations and on their vehicles. The initiative is also in line with the Commission’s Action Plan on Alternative Fuels Infrastructure, adopted in November 2017.

The new labels do not replace existing names and brands of fuels, nor quality, safety, and performance recommendations. They will be placed on the nozzles of all filling pumps, on the pumps themselves and in the immediate proximity of the fuel filler flap/cap of newly produced vehicles, as well as in the vehicle owner’s manual. The labels are divided in to three groups: (i) gasoline-type fuels, marked by an “E” inside a circle; (ii) diesel-type fuels, marked by a “B” inside a square; (iii) gaseous-type fuels, mentioning their specific subtype within a rhombus.

Further information is available at the following LINK.