Gas stations have been transformed in response to changes in consumer habits and needs. We no longer only enter service stations to refuel and drink a quick coffee, but we can do the shopping for the day, wash the car or our pet, pick up or return an Amazon order, charge the electric car, as well as a long list. of actions. “Today, half as many liters of fuel are sold per service station as in 2007. The average has gone from 3.5 million liters per year to 1.8 million in 2023 and in 2024 the figure will be similar,” he indicates. Nacho Rabadán, general director of the Spanish Confederation of Service Station Employers (CEEES). Consumption has decreased, the engines consume less and in the last 15 years the number of service stations has grown by 20%. «In this context the sector tries to be competitive in price and diversify. That is why ‘non-oil’ services are growing so much, to be able to maintain income,” highlights Rabadán.
Of the 12,000 gas stations in Spain, 70% are owned by SMEs and micro-SMEs, many of which are family-owned. In all of them, digitalization and the energy transition are also having a great weight in the transformation process. «Digitization, AI, machine learning… can help us identify customers and offer them tailored solutions. We have the best tools at our disposal and we want to take advantage of them,” highlights the general director of CEES. “Any investment made in digitalization is just that, an investment, not an expense,” he adds. Regarding the energy transition, it recalls the sector’s commitment to the goal of climate neutrality in 2050 and highlights that many stations have solar panels, charging points and renewable fuels. «The future is going to be multi-energy and no season is the same as another. In some, more LNG is sold, in others LPG, also hydrogen… the important thing is to share this objective of decarbonization,” he highlights.
This same week Moeve has presented its new service station concept in Madrid, a digitalized space for commerce, leisure, restaurants and multi-energy supply. After its name change, Cepsa to Moeve, the company is going to progressively transform its service stations in Spain and Portugal to the new brand, at a rate of 600 per year. «We have designed this new concept of service stations to change the experience that our customers had until now, complementing the supply of multiple energy alternatives with a wide range of ultra-convenience, leisure and restaurant services, adapted to the needs of each location and under a completely digitalized model,” says Maarten Wetselaar, CEO of Moeve. The idea is to convert the stations into places where the customer can enjoy a personalized and pleasant stay. «People will come because they want to be here, not because they have to be here. “It will be like a VIP lounge at an airport,” explained the CEO during the presentation of the renovated station.
Of its entire network of 1,800 establishments on the Peninsula, Moeve has chosen the one in Campo de las Unidas, next to the M-40, to test the new technologies it is going to develop. More than 700,000 customers pass through this station every year and it already has new technology for personalizing the customer experience and optimizing the operation. This space has six 350kW ultra-fast charging pointspowered with 100% renewable energy supplied by Moeve, to which another six more places will be added in the coming months, twenty traditional fuel pumps, all of them with digitalized payment at the same pump and prepared for the supply of renewable diesel (HVO100 ), and six gas supply points (LPG and CNG).
Another novelty of the company is the entry of new restaurant services in its spaces, with an offer adapted to the consumption trends of each location, with the Moeve Market, Moeve Eats or R’SPIRO brands. And as part of its digitalization process, it has the Moeve gow loyalty program, which allows users to obtain credit both in Moeve and in their day-to-day purchases to exchange for fuel, electric recharges, washing or products from the Moeve store. Market.
Diversification
Repsol is another of the companies that is betting the most on the technological and energy transformation of its service stations. As the firm indicates, at different points in its network of more than 3,300 gas stations, you can find products such as LPG, LNG and CNG, 100% renewable diesel originating from waste (Nexa), electric charging points… « Today we have more than 2,076 charging points nationwide, in more than 800 at service stations,” Repsol sources say. Their commitment to Nexa will intensify next year and they hope to sell this renewable fuel at 1,500 stations. With more than a million customers a day at all its stations, Repsol has been offering more services. One of its best-known alliances is with El Cote Inglés through the SuperCor Stop & Go brand where it offers top quality products. «It is present in nearly 700 stations and in 2028 we want to reach 1,000. We offer customers an assortment of 35,000 references,” Repsol highlights.
Although it is their fundamental partner, they have other types of alliances. For example, they work with Amazon and Inpost for the shipping and collection of packages and in the field of catering they have agreements with Enrique Tomás and Lizarrán, two different gastronomic offers. And in the coffee sector, with Nespresso and Starbucks. Last year Repsol sold 9 million units of coffee and 14 million units of bread and pastries.
A customer picks up an Amazon package at a Repsol gas station
Its Wayllet application has more than 8.5 million registered users. Launched in 2017, in 2022 it became the most downloaded app in Spain in a few weeks. With it you can pay without going to the cashier, there are personalized offers and you accumulate money that can be used to pay for other services, such as the electricity bill.
Electricity
Other legs of the companies’ business are also promoted from gas stations. This is the case of Hafesa, one of the large marketing and distribution groups of petroleum products in Spain that expects to close this year with a turnover of 1.5 billion euros. It has a small network of eight rental model gas stations located within a 250 kilometer radius around its storage plants. From these gas stations “we want to enhance the electricity services offered by our new marketing company, Aletteo. To do this, we are going to integrate offers and cross promotions and we are going to take advantage of these points of sale to enhance the visibility of these services by carrying out marketing campaigns at the point of sale,” highlights Rafael Blanco, national operations manager for the US division. H.H. from Hafesa.
A full range of services are offered at these gas stations, including convenience stores, butane sales, car wash and hand wash points, as well as refueling positions offering all types of fuels and Ad Blue. «In addition, Hafesa has the top-up loyalty card, which offers direct discounts to its customers on each refueling. A free card that is available to both individuals, self-employed workers and fleets,” highlights the person in charge. The group remembers that the price of fuel is a very important factor for many customers when choosing a gas station. «However, they also value other aspects such as personalized attentionthe convenient location and the additional services offered,” says Blanco. Services that are increasingly making a difference at all gas stations.
This transformation is reaching many different service stations, such as the low-cost gas station company Plenoil, which has just renewed its brand identity under the new name of Plenergy, marking a strategic change towards a multi-energy approach. «For nine years we have offered an optimal experience to our customers, which has allowed us to grow to almost 300 stations. This name change positions us to continue offering the same product and experience while preparing for future growth. The evolution to Plenergy perfectly conveys our vision of offering the energy that the consumer demands,” says José Rodríguez de Arellano, CEO of Plenergy.
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