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Spain: CNMC renews push in favor of automated service stations

By  |  July 23, 2019
The National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) of Spain has published a new study on the service station and automated service stations sector, denouncing yet again the strong barriers to entry that exist in state and local regulations.

Currently 882 service stations operate under an automated scheme, representing 9% of Spain’s total. These stations are supported by the CNMC because, in their view, they are a way to introduce greater competition to the market and thus benefit consumers by promoting lower costs and physical space than traditional service stations, in addition to being suitable for less attractive areas for full-service stations, thus improving access and distribution.

Focusing its most recent analysis on Madrid, the CNMC has concluded that the arrival of these automated stations has led to a reduction in fuel prices, saving between 15 and 24 million euros for consumers.

“This report lays out in black and white that automatic stations are an important driving force,” said the president of the Association of Automatic Service Stations in Spain (Aesae), Manuel Jiménez Perona. “Our business model is a way to introduce competition in an oligopolistic market.”
Full Content: El Español

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