Europa was a
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
-owned oil company that was operated by the
Todd family in New Zealand, in competition with overseas firms such as Texaco (now
Caltex in NZ), Plume (now
Mobil
Mobil is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil. The brand was formerly owned and operated by an oil and gas corporation of the same name, which itself merged with Exxon to form ExxonMobil in 1999.
...
), Shell (now
Z Energy
Z Energy is a New Zealand fuel distributor with branded service stations. It comprises some of the former assets of Shell New Zealand and Chevron New Zealand. Shell left the New Zealand fuel distribution business in April 2010, selling its ope ...
) and Atlantic (now
Mobil
Mobil is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil. The brand was formerly owned and operated by an oil and gas corporation of the same name, which itself merged with Exxon to form ExxonMobil in 1999.
...
).
Starting in Dunedin (where the Todd family was based), in 1931
Charles Todd decided to import his own petrol. From 1933 the ''Europa'' brand of cheap imported petrol from the Soviet Union was sold through a chain of service stations across the country, in association with the
New Zealand Farmer's Union and various regional Automobile Associations. Because of price undercutting by the overseas firms, the government introduced regulation of petrol prices from 1933.
In the early sixties the company was fined a large sum in a Transfer pricing scandal.
In 1972
British Petroleum NZ acquired a 60% interest in the company.
During this time, the company produced what was an award-winning television advert that featured American rock legend
Stevie Ray Vaughan and New Zealand Blues legend
Midge Marsden
Keith Douglas "Midge" Marsden (born 1945) is a New Zealand blues and R&B guitarist, harmonica-player, and singer with a musical career spanning four decades.
Life and career
Marsden was born and brought up in Moturoa, New Plymouth, Tarana ...
as part of the "Travellin' On" television adverts. The television adverts were shot mainly around the Central North Island of New Zealand during 1988.
NZ On Screen: Travellin' On - Europa (with Stevie Ray Vaughan)
/ref>
This would be the last major television advert used until 1989 when the Europa brand was replaced with the BP shield.[
]
See also
* Bryan Todd (New Zealand)
Sir Bryan James Todd (8 September 1902 – 29 May 1987) was one of four brothers who built one of New Zealand's biggest industrial and commercial enterprises. He was an important figure in the development of the New Zealand oil and gas energy in ...
* Todd Corporation
The Todd Corporation is a large private New Zealand company with a value of $4.3 billion, owned and controlled by the Todd family and headquartered in Wellington, New Zealand. The corporation is currently led by chairman of the board, Henry Tait ...
References
External links
Biography of Charles Todd (1868-1942)
Oil and gas companies of New Zealand
Automotive fuel retailers
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