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Date Published: 21/03/2023

ARCHIVED - Two in ten petrol stations in Spain are now low cost

ARCHIVED ARTICLE -

Automatic service stations account for 18.3% of the total across Spain

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Two in ten petrol stations in Spain are now low cost

The rise in fuel costs sparked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine has triggered a low cost filling station boom in Spain, and these automated facilities which offer cut-price petrol and diesel now account for 18.3% of the total across the mainland and the Balearic and Canary Islands.

Although fuel has come under control somewhat and is now approaching the price it was a year ago, the major filling station companies in Spain are still betting on the low cost option, with 13.5% of the total corresponding to large distribution groups like Repsol and Cepsa.

"This is unequivocal proof that we are facing a model for the present and the future," says Manuel Jiménez, president of the National Association of Automatic Service Stations (Aesae).

According to the Ministry of Ecological Transition, low cost refuelling stations have increased by a significant 49% since March 2020 but Spain is still well behind many of its European neighbours.

Aesae, which believes that Spain "is still far from benchmark countries such as Denmark or Finland , where automatics are more than 60% of the gas stations", has blamed certain municipalities like Alicante and Santander, who it says only grant planning for the cheap filling stations in lower populated areas.

The regions with the greatest presence of automatic service stations at the moment are Cataluña (31.4%), Comunidad Valenciana (24.5%) and Madrid (21.9%).

Despite the obstacles, a recent Plenoil study found that 30% of drivers have now started using the low cost services, with seven out of ten motorists (69.6%) opting for the automated petrol stations because they are cheaper. Another 46.5% of people said that the location was the deciding factor.

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Image: Plenoil

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