Totalenergies announced on Thursday that it would sell about 1,600 filling stations in Germany and the Netherlands to Canadian fuel and food distribution group Couche-Tard, to better prepare for the end of sales of new fuel-powered vehicles in Europe in 2035.
The vote of the European Parliament in mid-February that provides for a ban on the sale of new thermal vehicles in Europe in 2035, in particular to benefit the development of electric vehicles, “encourages TotalEnergies to make decisions about the future of its networks in Europe, which will face a loss of its fuel-related income, while electric vehicles will be recharged mainly at home or at work and less at stations,” the French oil giant explains in a press release.
Service stations in Germany and the Netherlands
In Germany and the Netherlands, Totalenergies announces that “it will sell its entire network of service stations to Couche-Tard, that is, 1,198 stations in Germany and 392 in the Netherlands”, countries in which the group claims not to be a leader and where ” a player’s experience in local commerce is essential.”
Totalenergies “will therefore focus on the development of new mobility (electric and hydrogen) in these countries,” the group specifies, before listing off-season electric recharging activities, hydrogen distribution, retail major fuel and fuel distribution network. Distribution stations for professionals AS24.
In Belgium and Luxembourg, where the French giant claims to be the leader, a joint venture will be created between Totalenergies (40%) and Couche-Tard (60%) to operate 619 service stations and accelerate “the transformation of these two networks to maximize their sales excluding fuels derived from petroleum”.
The stations in the four countries will maintain the Totalenergies brand as long as they are supplied with fuel by the oil group “for at least five years,” the latter specifies.
An enterprise value of 3,100 million
For TotalEnergies, this operation is therefore part of its strategy of “transformation into a multi-energy company and its ambition to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050”, according to the press release.
The project should be completed before the end of 2023, subject to the approval of the competition authorities.
Since 2015, TotalEnergies has been selling its service station networks in Italy, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Source: BFM TV
