Totalenergies closed on Wednesday the sale of service stations in Europe to the Canadian distribution, food and fuel group Couche-Tard for a total amount of 3.4 billion euros. This transaction should allow the French group to anticipate the end of sales of new thermal vehicles on the continent in 2035.
The French oil and gas group indicates in a statement that it has received “a total cash amount after adjustments and before taxes of 3.4 billion euros.”
More sales of new thermal cars in 2035
This acquisition “includes 100% of the assets linked to Totalenergies’ retail trade in Germany and the Netherlands”, that is, 1,191 service stations located in Germany and 378 in the Netherlands, the Alimentation Couche group detailed in a statement.
In Belgium and Luxembourg, this agreement takes the form of a joint venture between Totalenergies (40%) and Couche-Tard (60%) to operate 606 service stations, he added.
Totalenergies will continue to supply the facilities in these four countries “for at least five years, in particular thanks to its refineries in Antwerp (Belgium) and Leuna (Germany),” the French company specified.
Loss of fuel-related revenue
The European Parliament’s vote in mid-February that foresees a ban on sales of new thermal vehicles in Europe in 2035, in particular to benefit electric vehicles, “encourages Totalenergies to make decisions on the future of its networks in Europe that “They will be faced with a loss of their fuel-related revenues, while electric vehicles will be recharged mainly at home or at work and less at the stations,” the French oil giant explained in March.
In Germany and the Netherlands, countries in which the group says it is not a leader, it indicated in March that it wanted to focus on “the development of new mobility (electric and hydrogen).”
In Belgium and Luxembourg, where the French giant claims to be a leader, it aims to accelerate “the transformation of these two networks by maximizing their sales without including petroleum-derived fuels.”
Since 2015, Totalenergies has already sold its service station networks in Italy, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Source: BFM TV
