As of 12th October 2018 fuel labelling of both new cars and petrol stations in Europe are changing. If you’re hiring a car in Europe the changes will affect you so we’ve put together a useful guide on what the changes are and how they might affect you and to help you avoid
misfuelling a rental car. The new fuel labelling will be implemented across all 28 EU member states (including the
UK for now*), countries in the EEA (Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway) and also Switzerland, Turkey, Macedonia and Serbia. The new labelling aims to standardise all fuel labelling across Europe to minimise misfuelling and confusion at the pumps.
*The UK will decide post Brexit how to handle the labels, however all vehicles manufactured in the EU will carry the new labelling.
You may have already noticed the new labelling if you’ve driven in Europe recently as the 12
th October 2018 is the compliance date so most fuel stations will have phased in the new labelling, likely with information points and notices at the pump to help transition from the old to the new labelling.
What do the new EU fuel labels look like?
The new standard labelling for fuel in Europe has moved away from various colours. Traditionally petrol pumps have been green with diesel pumps yellow. The new label will use shapes to determine fuel types where;
- Petrol – Circle with the letter E followed by a number (E5, E10, E85)
- Diesel – Square with the letter B followed a number (B7, B10, XTL)
- LPG – Diamond with fuel symbol (eg H2, CNG, LPG, LNG)
What does the new EU petrol label look like?
Petrol pumps will have round symbols with the corresponding letter / number specifying the grade of petrol at the pump.
What does the new EU diesel label look like?
Diesel pumps will have square labels with the corresponding letter / number specifying the grade of diesel at the pump.
What does the new EU gaseous fuel label look like?
Gaseous pumps, such as LPG will have diamond labels with the corresponding letter(s) / number specifying the composition of gaseous fuel at the pump.
Still not sure what fuel to put in a rental car? Read our handy guide.