10-17-2018 Rainer Knirsch

• Joint venture brings Europe-wide toll box into trucks
• Acquisition is subject to competition clearance

Shell acquires 15 percent stake in toll service provider Toll4Europe.

Movement in the European toll market: euroShell Cards B.V. with headquarter in Rotterdam, a company of the Shell Group, acquires 15% of the European Toll4Europe - a so-called EETS (Electronic European Toll Service) provider. euroShell will thereby also become one of the sales partners for Toll4Europe’s toll payment services.

Toll4Europe wants to make it easier for transport or logistics customers with heavy goods vehicles on the European road network: A universal Toll4Europe toll box and a contract with one supplier will enable fast track payment for road, bridge and tunnels tolls across multiple countries.

Formed in 2017, Toll4Europe GmbH with headquarter in Berlin is a joint venture between T-Systems International GmbH, Daimler AG and DKV Euro Service GmbH + Co KG. Following euroShell’s 15-%-acquisition, T-Systems (subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom AG) will continue to lead the venture and hold 55% of the shares. The Telekom partners Daimler, DKV and euroShell each hold 15% of the shares in the company, thus strengthening the consortium. The acquisition of the shares by euroShell is subject to competition clearance.

Katya Atanasova, Shell Vice President Fleet Solutions, said: "By joining Toll4Europe we will be able to offer our euroShell card customers a technology that enables digital toll payments and mobility services across all EU countries".

EU: National toll systems must work together

The legal framework for the development of European toll box solution is the EETS directive. The directive applies in principle to all EU states that have introduced or are planning to introduce an electronic truck toll system. It obliges toll operators to ensure interoperability - various toll systems in the various countries must be able to work together. Germany transposed this directive into national law in 2014 through the Toll System Act.