Cheap fuel finally hits Wellington as Waitomo petrol station opens

Monday, 13 May 2019

Waitomo Group are set to open a new competitively priced petrol station in Wellington. (First published October 18, 2018).

Waitomo Group opened its first Wellington station in Upper Hutt this week, the only low-cost fuel provider to enter the capital's market to date.

The first Wellington fuel stop on Fergusson Drive brings price competition to the Wellington region, as part of the company's national expansion. A second Wellington site, Waitomo Tinakori, will open on the Old Hutt Road in Thorndon by mid-July.

Wellington has been paying higher fuel prices than the rest of the country because until now it lacked a low cost provider to compete with the large chains that operate manned stations.

The 24-hour unmanned fuel stop will serve retail and commercial customers.

For 48-hours from midday today , Waitomo will lower the costs of petrol even more than its standard price, as a one-time offer selling Unleaded 91 at $1.899 a litre, Premium at $2.029 a litre and diesel at $1.199 a litre.

* Bulls residents hope for cheaper fuel prices with new petrol station

* Gull effect takes hold in New Plymouth as new station opens**

Matt van der Gulik was the fifth person in a queue of more than 25 vehicles Waitomo to fill up at Waitomo when the petrol station opened for business.

He hoped having competition would 'keep the other fuel companies honest' and would bring cheaper fuel to everyone.

Tania Fergusson also filled her car up on Waitomo's opening day.

Waitomo was a welcome challenge to other retailers that charged 'way too much', she said.

'It means heaps, you can't just fill a car up anymore. It doesn't matter how [economical] your car is.'

Fuel prices at nearby Caltex Rimutaka, Caltex Fergusson Drive, BP, Z and Mobil were all $2.279 per litre for 91 octane and $1.649 for diesel yesterday afternoon.

By the early afternoon Caltex Rimutaka and BP had changed their 91 octane prices to $2.149 per litre and diesel to $1.489. Caltex Fergusson Drive's prices were $1.939 for 91 octane and $1.239 for diesel.

Waitomo managing director Jimmy Ormsby was said other Upper Hutt fuel retailers had lowered priced before they let the first car through the gate.

Waitomo managing director Jimmy Ormsby said it marked an important milestone for the company.

More than 25 cars queude along Fergusson Drive in Upper Hutt to fuel up at the new Waitomo petrol station.

'Motorists down here have been hurting at the pump for so too long, and we're stoked to put that right.

'From the huge response we've had, you can tell what this means to Upper Hutt motorists. Not bad for a small Waikato third-generation family business to be Wellington's petrol price disruption,' Ormsby said.

The bulk fuel provider moved into retailing fuel with its Te Uku station near Raglan in 2012, providing competition in the North Island to Gull, the New Zealand owned fuel importer and no-frills retailer attributed with driving down prices wherever it opened a station.

Known as the 'Gull Effect,' prices could vary by as much 20c a litre in one town, depending on whether it had a Gull station.

Gull is also on its way to the capital, announcing in March it had applied for resource consent to build an unmanned station in Petone.

In December last year the Government decided the retail fuel market's competitiveness would be the first target of new powers handed to the Commerce Commission. It will look into the margins on fuel; the investigation triggered by record high prices at the pump.

Discount fuel retailer Waitomo opened its first station in the Wellington Region in Upper Hutt on May 14. Discount retailers often claim fuel prices tend to drop when they enter new markets.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said at the time motorists were likely being 'fleeced'.

The industry came under intense scrutiny after a leaked emailed showed fuel retailer BP planned to stem losses at its Otaki outlet by raising prices, in the hope its rivals would follow suit.

The NZ Automobile Association (AA) has complained fuel prices were higher in the South Island and Wellington for several years.

'Those higher prices in Wellington south were cross-subsidising the lower prices in the rest of the North Island. It wasn't uncommon for prices in Wellington South to be 20c a litre higher than in the rest of the North Island,' the AA's principle advisor of regulation, Mark Stockdale said.

With Gull also moving into the Wellington market and with the two no-frills brands operation, prices will come down, Stockdale said.

'You may still see higher prices in pockets of Wellington.'

And Christchurch, you are not being missed out.

Waitomo is in the planning phase for a Christchurch station, which is due to open later this year, 'all going well,' Ormsby said.

Ormsby said there were half a dozen South Island fuel stops in the pipeline as part of its network expansion, which will include its bulk business.

'We started growing our fuel stop network based on the fact our transport operator customers said we really need you to grow into new areas because our operations aren't just in the Waikato,' Ormsby said.

- The price of diesel has been corrected.

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