End of the fuel reduction: Leclerc does not rule out “taking a step”

January 1, 2023 will mark the end of fuel discounts at service stations in France. Since November 16, the State discount had dropped from 30 to 10 cents per liter and that of TotalEnergies from 20 to 10 cents.

Despite this context, pump prices remain at relatively low levels for the moment compared to recent months, thanks in particular to the drop in the price of a barrel of crude oil.

“Total is my supplier but also my competitor”

But I’m not sure it will last with, from January 1, this mechanical price increase of 20 cents at TotalEnergies stations (where the two discounts are combined) and 10 cents at the rest of the stations and the uncertainties about the overall economic activity.

With the end of these sales, could the Leclerc group make an effort towards motorists?

“Maybe. Yes, we can make a move, but I still don’t know the rules of the game, I don’t know if they’re really going to stop, I don’t know if Total is going to stop,” explained Michel-Edouard Leclerc.

“I am not going to announce (what I am going to do) to my competitor, because Total is my supplier but also my competitor,” continued the manager.

Total does not plan to extend its refund

If the government’s decision seems to have been taken, a simple reminder: the previous lowering of the discounts initially scheduled for November 1 had been postponed for 15 days in a context of stoppages at refineries and fuel shortages, partly caused by these discounts. . However, a target device must take over this time from the discounts.

On the TotalEnergies side, we have already ruled out continuing to apply the discount of 10 cents per liter. “No extension of this discount is expected after this date,” a company spokesperson said.

Without this having been mentioned by its leader, the stations of the Leclerc centers could resume operations “fuel at cost price”, as happened for example last summer. If large retailers achieve small margins on their fuel sales (between 0.1 and 0.2 cents per litre), this commercial asset allows them to continue attracting customers.