Commercial Fuel Cards in Europe: Obstacles and Opportunities

Table of Contents

• DATAMONITOR VIEW
  • CATALYST
  • SUMMARY
  • METHODOLOGY
• ANALYSIS
  • Poland provides the best opportunity for fuel card business growth
    • Poland's fuel card market has the greatest untapped potential, but time is of the essence
    • Quality customer service is the key to unlocking Poland's potential
    • Uncertainty over the merits of PKN's fuel card provision provides an opportunity
    • Successful entry into Poland could be achieved via telecoms channels
    • The Repsol brand represents a formidable barrier to entry into Iberia
    • Any attempt to compete with Repsol in Iberia must be on the basis of customer service
    • Successful entry into Spain and Portugal would require people on the ground
    • The majority of Iberian fleet managers have not been approached by a fuel card provider
    • Supermarket strength undermines the potential to develop a fleet fuel card proposition in France
    • Untapped potential in Italy's fuel market is limited by a wider averseness to commercial card use
  • Former state incumbents provide a notable barrier to new entrants
    • PKN Orlen remains key adversary to potential Polish entrants
    • Repsol is the dominant Spanish fuel card provider
    • Galp's fuel card market share reflects its Portuguese incumbent status
    • Agip dominates Italy with a critical 25% network penetration
    • Total controls the lion's share of French fuel card volumes
  • Europe's fuel card market has genuine untapped potential
    • Core untapped markets have divergent characteristics requiring different entry strategies
    • Fuel card penetration varies significantly across Europe
    • An all round package is key to being a successful European fuel card provider
    • Shell and BP provide a large obstacle to any provider looking to enter Europe's fuel card market
    • A significant proportion of non-fuel card users perceive their company to be too small to benefit from using a provider
    • Europe's €56 billion fuel card market has untapped potential
• APPENDIX
  • Extended Methodology
    • Datamonitor's 2005 fleet survey targeted fleet managers across 5 European markets
    • In total the sample includes 1,474 responses across the 5 markets and 5 segments
  • Further reading
  • Ask the analyst
  • List of Figures
    • Figure 1: Polish fuel card market overview versus the European average
    • Figure 2: Question: You have chosen PKN Orlen as the best Polish fuel card provider, why is this the case?
    • Figure 3: Question: Which fuel card provider do you believe is the best in the Polish market?
    • Figure 4: Question: Which is your preferred channel of contact?
    • Figure 5: Question: Who would you say are the three main fuel card operators in your market?
    • Figure 6: Question: You have chosen Repsol as the best Iberian fuel card provider, why is this the case?
    • Figure 7: Question: Which is your preferred channel of contact?
    • Figure 8: Question: Have any fuel card providers approached you over the last 12 months?
    • Figure 9: Market share by fuel volume sales, 2004
    • Figure 10: Commercial card use in Europe's five largest fuel markets, 2004
    • Figure 11: Network acceptance and Volume market share
    • Figure 12: Network acceptance and Volume market share
    • Figure 13: Network acceptance and Volume market share
    • Figure 14: Network acceptance and Volume market share
    • Figure 15: Network acceptance and Volume market share
    • Figure 16: Untapped fuel card markets: concentration versus coverage
    • Figure 17: Active fuel cards per CRT and fleet vehicle
    • Figure 18: Question: You have chosen Shell as the best card provider, why is this the case?
    • Figure 19: Question: Who would you say are the three main fuel card operators in your market?
    • Figure 20: Question: What is the main reason for not using a fuel card?
    • Figure 21: Europe's fuel card market by value, 2004
    • Figure 22: Responses, by market and segment
    • Figure 23: Country-specific value, vehicle and volume breakdowns