Thursday, March 28

Automatic gas stations double their sales since the pandemic


The pandemic, the Ukrainian War and the subsequent energy crisis have boosted the growth of automatic gas stations in Spain, growing by 49% since March 2020, by becoming a savings alternative for Spanish families. Thus, these types of stations already account for 18.3% of the Spanish market, four points more than in March 2021, according to the latest Annual Study carried out by the National Association of Automatic Service Stations (Aesae), after analyzing the data available on the Geoportal of the Ministry for Ecological Transition.

In absolute terms, these petrol stations, which allow cheaper refueling with the same quality of fuel, already exceed 1,900 distribution points throughout the Peninsula, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands, almost two out of ten. Among the causes of this growth, the good reception of this model among consumers stands out, who have seen how in times when prices were skyrocketing, they have managed to adjust and provide real savings to consumers.

In addition, according to the Geoportal data analyzed by Aesae, 13.47% of the total number of automatic gas stations in Spain correspond to traditional gas station brands – and some of them with the Oligopoly company label – that have implemented this station model. of service to operate at all, or at some point of the day.

«Despite the economic uncertainty caused by inflation and the energy crisis, Aesae partners have continued to develop supply points throughout the Spanish geography. In addition, the conversion of many traditional gas stations to the automatic model, seeking greater efficiency, has increased the percentage of penetration of this model,” says Manuel Jiménez Perona, president of this association.

Also Read  Nigeria out to scratch 15-year itch against Ghana in clash of great rivals | World Cup 2022 qualifiers

However, and following the line of recent years, the automatic model is gaining ground in a heterogeneous way in Spain according to said study, which does not count hypermarket stations or agricultural cooperatives.

Catalonia continues to be the community with the highest penetration of this type of gas station with 31.4% of the total, followed by the Valencian Community (24.5%) and Madrid (21.29%). The rest are below the national average.

At the opposite extreme are Communities with little weight of automatics in the supply mix; such as Murcia (13%), the Balearic Islands (11%), the Basque Country (11.6%), Navarra (9%) and the Canary Islands (4.5%). Others, on the other hand, are close to the average, but are still below it, as is the case of Castilla y León (17%), La Rioja (17%), Andalucía (16%), Extremadura (15%) and Cantabria (15%). %).

In terms of growth, Galicia and Cantabria are the autonomous communities that are growing the most with a difference of 155% compared to the 2021 study. They are followed by Asturias (123%), Murcia (100%), Aragón (78%) and Castilla La Stain (75%). The regions that have grown the least, on the other hand, are the Valencian Community (35%), La Rioja (30%) and the Basque Country (24%).

However, despite the progress, “Spain is still far from leading countries in the opening and liberalization of the fuel market, such as Denmark or Finland, where of the total number of gas stations, automatic ones exceed 60%,” says the president of Aesae .

What kind of gas stations are there?

Also Read  A 14-meter-long, classically-made dragon will revive the legend of Cáceres after three years without celebrations

Gas stations can be flagged, that is, one of the big oil companies (Repsol, Cepsa, BP, Galp, etc…), other brands, hypermarkets and supermarkets, cooperatives (mainly agricultural and fishing), professionals (taxi and fleets of trucks and coaches), white label and unattended (they do not have staff). They all sell gasoline (95 and 98 octane) and diesel (automotive, agricultural and heating). Both cooperatives and service stations for professionals usually only offer diesel, the fuel used by fleets of taxis, buses and boats.

What is currently known as “premium” gasoline are fuels whose composition has been altered by the introduction of special additives. These substances added to gasoline have different functions, such as lubrication, acting as antifreeze or stabilizer.

Before the oil company adds these compounds, the gasolines are exactly the same. This is due to the fact that all fuels sold in Spanish service stations are required to meet minimum quality standards. So “low cost” fuels also meet these minimum requirements.

The added compounds that carry the most expensive gasolines, as well as their proportion, the brands keep them in the most rigorous secret. Each oil company has its formula, which allows them to differentiate themselves from the rest.


www.hoy.es

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *