TotalEnergies is preparing for the 2035 horizon. In anticipation of the end of sales of new thermal vehicles in Europe, the oil giant will part with 1,600 service stations in Germany and the Netherlands. TotalEnergies announces that it “will sell to Couche-Tard all of its service station networks, i.e. 1,198 stations in Germany and 392 in the Netherlands”, countries in which the group says it is not the leader and where “the expertise of a player in local commerce is essential”.
TotalEnergies “will therefore focus on the development of new mobility (electric and hydrogen) in these countries”, specifies the group, before listing the off-station electric charging activities, the distribution of hydrogen, the wholesale of fuels and the network of fuel distribution stations for AS24 professionals. In Belgium and Luxembourg, where the French giant claims to be the leader, a joint venture between TotalEnergies (40%) and Couche-Tard (60%) will be created to operate 619 service stations and accelerate “the transformation of these two networks by maximizing their sales excluding petroleum fuels”. The stations in the four countries will keep the TotalEnergies brand as long as they are supplied with fuel by the oil group “for at least five years”, specifies the latter.
A transaction at “3.1 billion euros”
The European Parliament’s vote in mid-February providing for the ban on sales of new thermal vehicles in Europe in 2035, in particular to the benefit of the development of electric vehicles, “encourages TotalEnergies to take decisions regarding the future of its networks in Europe which will face a loss of their fuel-related income, while electric vehicles will recharge mainly at home or at work and less at stations, ”explains the French oil giant in a press release.
The proposed transaction between the two groups “is based on an enterprise value of 3.1 billion euros”, specifies TotalEnergies without detailing this amount, and “concerns the networks of service stations and fuel card activities for business customers”. 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 finalized before the end of 2023, subject to the approval of the competition authorities. Since 2015, TotalEnergies has already sold its service station networks in Italy, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.