Pain at the pump could ease for Wellington motorists with Waitomo securing capital site

Wednesday, 17 October 2018

Waitomo, which has supplied Mobil fuels to commercial customers for 70 years, began entering the retail market about five years ago, mainly with unstaffed, self-serve sites.

Waitomo, the 70 year-old family-owned fuel seller, has gained resource consent for a petrol station in Wellington, a major market where such competition is limited.

Managing director Jimmy Ormsby said the company, headquartered in Hamilton, would open a site on the Hutt Road some time in the first quarter of 2019. The site will be unstaffed, with customers serving themselves.

The company, founded by Ormsby's grandfather and focused on supplying commercial customers until into retailing around five years ago, has a supply agreement with Mobil allowing it access to fuel wherever the US oil giant has terminals, including Seaview in Lower Hutt.

Currently Wellington motorists pay among the highest prices of any major centre in New Zealand.

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Ormsby said that currently the company was charging $2.239 a litre for petrol in Hamilton, compared to the prevailing price in central Wellington of $2.459. Diesel in Hamilton was $1.519, 30c a litre cheaper than Ormsby had observed in Wellington.

'If we were opening today and we were rolling out our disruptive model, which we intend to do, that would be the differential. But we don't know what our competitors would do to respond to our pricing.'

Currently the southernmost Waitomo site is in Foxton, but Ormsby said the company was excited about Wellington.

'There's an opportunity here and we can bring competition to the market.

'There aren't any independent low-cost operators operating in Wellington, so that's an opportunity for us to enter the market and take market share.'

AA spokesman Mark Stockdale said the news was definitely positive for Wellington motorists, coming weeks after Gull signalled it was also planning on coming to the capital.

'This is something that Wellington motorists have been asking for for a long time. They've missed out on the competition they see as close as Levin or Masterton, but it doesn't get any further south.'

Stockdale said the move would have an impact on other stations, but the price savings could be localised.

'It won't necessarily mean lower prices across the Wellington region, it'll only apply to a small radius around Hutt Road.