In 2013, ACEA issued a communication so customers could be informed if their vehicles would be compatible with the use of E10 petrol or B7 diesel.
In that communication (https://www.acea.be/publications/article/vehicle-compatibility-with-new-fuel-standards) ACEA stated that B7 diesel fuel can be used in all diesel vehicles. That remains the case today and, in general, most diesel fuel (general diesel and proprietary diesel fuel offered by many fuel suppliers) that is sold in public filling stations for use in cars, vans and heavy-duty vehicles contains close to 7 %vol FAME (B7).
However, through a flexibility in the EU Fuel Quality Directive, France has decided to permit the sale of B10 diesel fuel in its territory and the French national fuel law has been changed to permit the sale of diesel fuel containing maximum 10 %vol FAME (‘B10’). At the same time, France has made sensible changes to address concerns that higher FAME diesel fuel will result in vehicle operational concerns, especially in colder conditions.
While all ACEA members accept B7 diesel without question, the use of B10 diesel presents issues of compatibility with vehicles, especially the more modern ones with more sophisticated emission control equipment. Accordingly, ACEA has decided to issue this B10 compatibility list so that customers facing a choice at diesel pumps in France are aware if their vehicle can use B10 or not.
The document attached outlines the background to B7 and B10 and provides (in Section 1) a list of the vehicles and engines that manufacturers have declared to be compatible with the use of BB10 diesel fuel. Section 2 list the manufacturers and vehicles that are not compatible with the use of B10 diesel fuel and should therefore continue to use normal B7 diesel fuel.
It is a requirement of the Fuel Quality Directive that if a filling station offers two diesel grades with different FAME content, they should be clearly labelled to allow the customer to make the right choice.
