Fuel labelling: Information to help consumers and operators choose right fuel now published

EU Directive 2014/94/EU on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure requires EU member states and EEA states to improve the information given to consumers who are faced with a choice of fuels for their vehicles. To that end, a CEN standard has drawn up common symbols, or ‘fuel identifiers’, that will be placed on new vehicles and fuel pumps. These identifiers must be in place by October 2018, and will start to be increasingly visible in the run-up to this date.

When customers arrive at a filling station and open the fuel-filler cap on their vehicle, a common fuel identifier will be visible on both the vehicle and the pump, providing guidance on the fuel that is compatible for use with their vehicle.

In order to assist both consumers and the operators of vehicle dealerships and retail stations to understand these new labels, a coalition of vehicle manufacturers, fuel refiners and fuel suppliers have today published informative brochures. These brochures, in Q&A format, explain the purpose of the identifiers and fuel labels, their design and in which vehicles they will appear.

The brochures are available online at www.fuel-identifiers.eu. They will also be made available in each EU member state in coordination with locally-affiliated national associations and companies.