Laval, Québec, Canada – Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (“Couche-Tard” or the “Company”) and its global brand, Circle K, make it official: “Yes, Will Ferrell – Circle K loves Norway and we’re ready!” By being number one for EV charging offers in Norway – home to its premier global electric vehicle laboratory – Circle K is ready for the future today with EV charging solutions!
Leading up to Superbowl Sunday in the United States, General Motors launched an electrical vehicle (EV) campaign where comedian Will Ferrell attacks Norway for being ahead on EVs. Circle K responded with its own campaign “We’re ready” where Norsemen-actress Silje Torp Færavaag and its own employees play leading roles:
We’re ready!
Circle K leads the way in Norway for EV charging and has more charging stations and home and office charging solutions than any other fuel retailer in Norway. For the last three years, Norway has been home to the company’s global EV lab, where a dedicated team is learning all it can about electric vehicle charging and building a more sustainable future. Starting this year, Circle K is bringing that know-how to North America, and plans to be ready and waiting as more EV customers hit the roads, making their customers’ lives a little easier every day.
“We are very pleased to have started our journey in Norway, where Circle K is the number one destination for EV customers. We are meeting those customers at our stores and in their homes and offices, creating a total solution for their charging needs. With our great team, growing expertise, and progressive locations in Norway, we have learned so much in the last few years, and we are excited to bring that knowledge and solutions to our global network, including North America, over the coming months and years.”
–Brian Hannasch, President and CEO
“At our EV lab in Norway, our dedicated teams have gained years of experience in the most mature market for electric vehicles,” said Hans-Olav Høidahl, EVP Operations Europe. “We always want to offer our customers the best possible experience, and Norway provides us the perfect testing conditions for first generation EV technology including chargers, vehicles, and payment methods. I’m proud that Norwegians see Circle K as the leading destination for EV charging, and I look forward to expanding our network of high-speed chargers and home charging solutions outside Norway over the coming months and years.”
Currently, Circle K operates a high-speed charging network with more than 500 chargers on its forecourts in Norway. The chargers are a combination of company-owned high-speed EV chargers and partner charging offers with Tesla and Ionity. At its busiest Norwegian Circle K highway locations, the sites are equipped with 20-40 high-speed chargers. In downtown Oslo, Circle K was the first to begin replacing fuel pumps with high-speed chargers. Circle K has also expanded its offer with over 4,200 home and workplace charge points.
As the premier EV charging provider in Norway, the company is ready to bring its capacity and knowledge to North America and other parts of its global network to further its journey toward a more sustainable future. In the coming months, the company will start to roll-out electric vehicle charging solutions at North America locations, beginning in its Quebec and California markets, with a combination of Circle K branded chargers and partner charging solutions. We’re ready!
About Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.
Couche-Tard is the leader in the Canadian convenience store industry. Circle K is its global brand outside of Quebec, Canada. In the United States, it is the largest independent convenience store operator in terms of the number of company-operated stores. In Europe, Couche-Tard is a leader in convenience store and road transportation fuel retail in the Scandinavian countries (Norway, Sweden and Denmark), in the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), as well as in Ireland, and has an important presence in Poland.
As of October 11, 2020, Couche-Tard’s network comprised 9,261 convenience stores throughout North America, including 8,085 stores with road transportation fuel dispensing. Its North American network consists of 18 business units, including 14 in the United States covering 47 states and 4 in Canada covering all 10 provinces. Approximately 109,000 people are employed throughout its network and at its service offices in North America.
In Europe, Couche-Tard operates a broad retail network across Scandinavia, Ireland, Poland, the Baltics and Russia through 10 business units. As of October 11, 2020, Couche-Tard’s network comprised 2,722 stores, the majority of which offer road transportation fuel and convenience products while the others are unmanned automated fuel stations which only offer road transportation fuel. Couche-Tard also offers other products, including aviation fuel and energy for stationary engines. Including employees at branded franchise stores, approximately 22,000 people work in its retail network, terminals and service offices across Europe.
In addition, under licensing agreements, more than 2,220 stores were operated under the Circle K banner in 15 other countries and territories (Cambodia, Egypt, Guam, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Jamaica, Macau, Mexico, Mongolia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam), which brings the worldwide total network to more than 14,200 stores.
Source: Circle K / Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.