To cope with the high price of petrol and diesel, almost 4 in 10 drivers in Spain (39.21%) have considered using public transport or other transport alternatives. This reality mainly affects women and young people aged between 18 and 35 from a low socio-economic class, although it should be noted that a high percentage of people
with high purchasing power (40.71%) They also considered that option. Asturias, La Rioja, the Valencian Community and Extremadura are the regions of Spain where the result has been most replicated; against Navarre, Aragon and Castilla-La Mancha.
On the contrary, of the 60.79% of respondents who have not considered other transportation alternatives, 25.54% will continue to use their vehicle as before, 17.72% will continue to use it, but not with the same frequency, and the remaining 17, 52% will use their car normally, always looking for the cheapest options for it.
The impact of the current economic context on consumers’ pockets has led to an increase in the number of Spanish drivers refueling at automatic petrol stations. This is shown by the study “Fuel consumption habits in Spain” prepared by Plenoil, which finds that 6 out of 10 drivers in Spain (61.04%) tend to
refuel at “low cost” filling stations compared to 33.37% who acknowledge to be a regular customer of traditional gas stations. Similarly, half (30.30%) of the segment of motorists who resort to automatic filling stations have recently started doing so in order to take the lowest possible price.
One of the reasons that has caused this trend change towards automatic petrol stations is that about 7 in 10 say it is
the price of fuel the most important factor that makes them choose to fill up at one petrol station or another in their daily lives (69.60%), followed by the location (46.49% – with an emphasis on the age group over 35 years old -), services offered in addition to refueling (23.37%) and customer service (15.05%).
«The results of this study confirm something that we have already confirmed: the business model of automatic petrol stations aiming to offer the best possible price responds to the needs of drivers in Spain. The current context of inflation is increasingly putting consumers in a tight spot, forcing them to spend heavily on the products they need every day. For this reason, it is essential to promote measures that relieve the user, protect their economy in critical situations, such as those we have been experiencing for months, to try to positively influence their quality of life,” he emphasizes.
José Rodríguez de Arellano, CEO of Plenoil.
For several months now, drivers have been confronted with a progressive escalation in fuel prices that are being exceeded several times
their all time highs. To alleviate the high costs, the government has introduced a temporary rebate of 20 cents per liter of fuel, a measure supported by 69% of those surveyed – 11.39% of them think it’s right, while 57.38% think it’s insufficient finds (mainly , Women) -. On the contrary, 31% do not think it is a good solution. “From Plenoil, we are going to support any measure that benefits citizens and generates savings,” says Rodríguez de Arellano.
Users also rate positively
the location of gas stations. Only 12.03% of the sample reported regularly refueling on the highway (mainly young people under 35), most drivers opt for filling stations in urban areas (37.43%), followed by stations near a city or city (29.75%) and on business parks (20.79%).
In addition to
a competitive price, what drivers in Spain appreciate most about a cheap gas station is that it is operational 24 hours a day, 365 days a year (37.38%). It is followed, to a lesser extent, by multiple pumps to avoid long waiting times (27.52%) -mainly drivers of hybrid vehicles-. In this sense, it should be noted that those surveyed also positively appreciate that the filling stations are automatic to speed up the process or that they have vendors, ie personnel at the foot of the runway who assist with refuelling. “The secret is to design a more efficient cost structure in order to offer the customer what they need: a fast, simple and affordable service,” admits Plenoil’s CEO.
When asked about the differences between the fuel offered by new generation petrol stations and traditional petrol stations, 66% of drivers do not know that the quality is the same. That is only 33.51% of the respondents
think it’s the same and therefore have the same quality, compared to 37.92% who think that the fuel from cheap gas stations is of lower quality and the remaining 28.56% who say they don’t know the answer.
Of those who believe the fuel is of inferior quality, 45.95% confirm that the only thing that changes are the additives, compared to 32.64% who believe that both the fuel and additives are different and 21.41% who not being aware of the difference but still believe that the quality is inferior.
The study “Fuel consumption habits in Spain” was carried out by Sondea for Plenoil and the sample consists of
a total of 2,000 women and men between the ages of 18 and 65. Almost all respondents (99.41%) are regular drivers of a petrol (45.84%) or diesel (45.50%) vehicle, while 8.07% are drivers of both. However, only 0.59% of drivers use a hybrid or electric vehicle (mainly over-55s with high purchasing power).
Source: La Verdad
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
