Petrol Station Owners

[bits]

How do they stay in business when their petrol is more expensive than the other servos?

Which one is more expensive?

[ghs]

OTR must be looking to expand into Melbourne fairly seriously over the
next few years. They had OTR signage on the Mclaren cars at the GP in Melbourne
which would have cost a fortune !

[SBD]

OTR must be looking to expand into Melbourne fairly seriously over the
next few years. They had OTR signage on the Mclaren cars at the GP in Melbourne
which would have cost a fortune !

I also thought it was a surprisingly large investment for a regional business. The OTR website says "across South Australia and Victoria" but the find a site section showed one in a Melbourne suburb and four in towns within about an hours drive of the SA border.

[rev]

OTR expanding into Victoria is old news.

[Bacon]

OTR must be looking to expand into Melbourne fairly seriously over the
next few years. They had OTR signage on the Mclaren cars at the GP in Melbourne
which would have cost a fortune !

It seems to be more to do with Peregrine’s relationship with tobacco companies.

The British team operates a rotational policy on behalf of BAT on selected areas of the car based on geographic relevance and business-to-business (B2B) relationships. In this instance, that has seen BAT afford OTR pass-through rights.

https://www.speedcafe.com/2022/04/09/th ... g-mclaren/

[SBD]

OTR must be looking to expand into Melbourne fairly seriously over the
next few years. They had OTR signage on the Mclaren cars at the GP in Melbourne
which would have cost a fortune !

It seems to be more to do with Peregrine’s relationship with tobacco companies.

The British team operates a rotational policy on behalf of BAT on selected areas of the car based on geographic relevance and business-to-business (B2B) relationships. In this instance, that has seen BAT afford OTR pass-through rights.

https://www.speedcafe.com/2022/04/09/th ... g-mclaren/

I guess they aren't allowed to advertise the cigarettes, but they can advertise the shop that sells them. Peregrine also owns the Smokemart franchise in SA (not sure about other states).

[ghs]

The Caltex on north east road in walkerville has closed down. This follows another Caltex closing down on main north road earlier in the year. There was also a Caltex that closed down in the city a few years ago.

Pretty sad that a business such as Caltex which does things by the book, can’t compete with other companies such as OTR and X Convenience who cut corners.

[SBD]

The Caltex on north east road in walkerville has closed down. This follows another Caltex closing down on main north road earlier in the year. There was also a Caltex that closed down in the city a few years ago.

Pretty sad that a business such as Caltex which does things by the book, can’t compete with other companies such as OTR and X Convenience who cut corners.

Who owns/owned those Caltex outlets? Caltex Australia was renamed and rebranded as Ampol last year, but I think the one on Main North Road at Elizabeth Grove might still have Caltex signs too. It's the only fuel outlet I can think of that still closes at 10pm.

Which fuel companies still own their own retail shops? Liberty appears to be franchised, and most of the others are now operated by "convenience store" chains (AMPM, OTR, X-Convenience, Coles Express, Woolworths).

Out of the metro area there are still locally-owned single outlets, but I can't think of any in the metro area any more.

[rev]

The Caltex on north east road in walkerville has closed down. This follows another Caltex closing down on main north road earlier in the year. There was also a Caltex that closed down in the city a few years ago.

Pretty sad that a business such as Caltex which does things by the book, can’t compete with other companies such as OTR and X Convenience who cut corners.

Who owns/owned those Caltex outlets? Caltex Australia was renamed and rebranded as Ampol last year, but I think the one on Main North Road at Elizabeth Grove might still have Caltex signs too. It's the only fuel outlet I can think of that still closes at 10pm.

Which fuel companies still own their own retail shops? Liberty appears to be franchised, and most of the others are now operated by "convenience store" chains (AMPM, OTR, X-Convenience, Coles Express, Woolworths).

Out of the metro area there are still locally-owned single outlets, but I can't think of any in the metro area any more.

Quite a few of the X Convenience are "franchised".
Liberty, and I think United are both franchised.

I think it's just OTR which owns all it's stores.

[SBD]

The Caltex on north east road in walkerville has closed down. This follows another Caltex closing down on main north road earlier in the year. There was also a Caltex that closed down in the city a few years ago.

Pretty sad that a business such as Caltex which does things by the book, can’t compete with other companies such as OTR and X Convenience who cut corners.

Who owns/owned those Caltex outlets? Caltex Australia was renamed and rebranded as Ampol last year, but I think the one on Main North Road at Elizabeth Grove might still have Caltex signs too. It's the only fuel outlet I can think of that still closes at 10pm.

Which fuel companies still own their own retail shops? Liberty appears to be franchised, and most of the others are now operated by "convenience store" chains (AMPM, OTR, X-Convenience, Coles Express, Woolworths).

Out of the metro area there are still locally-owned single outlets, but I can't think of any in the metro area any more.

Quite a few of the X Convenience are "franchised".
Liberty, and I think United are both franchised.

I think it's just OTR which owns all it's stores.

https://xconvenience.com.au/company-profile/ says X-convenience is 100% family owned by the Kosmidis family.. I can't find info on opening a franchise. Certainly the planning documents for the site of the former Munno Para Bowling Club specify X-convenience, not just "a petrol station franchise".

Everything I can find for AMPM in Australia takes me back to Agostino Group, so maybe the shops are all owned by them as a franchise from the US company

[bits]

I believe X conv golden grove and st Peter's are franchise.
That does not make the X conv company any less 100% Andrash owned. Some other companies are just licensing the naming.

I believe otr were looking to franchise 3 of their stores last year. I am not sure if that ever occurred.

Edit:
My bad Otr might have been a land sale and long term lease things not franchise.
https://acapmag.com.au/2020/09/otr-is-s ... across-sa/

[rev]

Who owns/owned those Caltex outlets? Caltex Australia was renamed and rebranded as Ampol last year, but I think the one on Main North Road at Elizabeth Grove might still have Caltex signs too. It's the only fuel outlet I can think of that still closes at 10pm.

Which fuel companies still own their own retail shops? Liberty appears to be franchised, and most of the others are now operated by "convenience store" chains (AMPM, OTR, X-Convenience, Coles Express, Woolworths).

Out of the metro area there are still locally-owned single outlets, but I can't think of any in the metro area any more.

Quite a few of the X Convenience are "franchised".
Liberty, and I think United are both franchised.

I think it's just OTR which owns all it's stores.

https://xconvenience.com.au/company-profile/ says X-convenience is 100% family owned by the Kosmidis family.. I can't find info on opening a franchise. Certainly the planning documents for the site of the former Munno Para Bowling Club specify X-convenience, not just "a petrol station franchise".

Everything I can find for AMPM in Australia takes me back to Agostino Group, so maybe the shops are all owned by them as a franchise from the US company

There's several stores, such as in the inner west and down south, that are not directly them, but people close to them.
Whether it's some sort of lease agreement or franchise type deal. But those other people are putting up cash for those outlets.

[Howie]

Seriously, this thread needs a clean-up and a ban to be issued. We don't have time to be moderating this s**t.

[rev]

Push to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in Australia as early as 2025 - so could this mean the end of ute?

Car landscape is drastically changing in Australia from traditional fuel and diesel
Industry to be overhauled as the world collectively pushes to carbon net zero
Top two selling cars in Australia are utes - Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger
Four of top 10 selling cars in Australia are fuel or diesel utes
Major manufacturers refused to comment on plans to fully electrify the cars
By SAM MCPHEE FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA
PUBLISHED: 15:46 AEST, 18 May 2022 | UPDATED: 17:27 AEST, 18 May 2022


The petrol and diesel car could soon be extinct in Australia with the country's most popular vehicles set to fall victim amid the push towards carbon net zero.

The two top-selling cars in the country are both utes - the Toyota Hilux at number one for the sixth-consecutive year, and the Ford Ranger at number two - neither of which have even hybrid or electric versions available.

Skyrocketing petrol prices has sparked the debate over electric cars and whether Australia should be doing more to introduce the infrastructure needed to support electric and hybrid vehicle uptake.


The world's push towards being carbon neutral by 2050 has seen policymakers, research institutes and even insurance companies calling for new petrol and diesel vehicles to be banned before 2035 could see the end of the vehicles altogether.

'The enemy is carbon, not the internal combustion engine,' Toyota President Akio Toyoda said.

'We need different solutions. This is the way to tackle climate neutrality.'

The NRMA has called for sales of new diesel and petrol-fuelled cars to end by 2030.

'If anything, our targets here need to be a bit more aggressive than what we're seeing in other markets,' NRMA CEO Rohan Lund told Four Corners.

'I would expect to start seeing targets that are between 2025, 2030 for banning [the sale of new] petrol-driven cars in this country.

'We don't manufacture cars here, we're recipients of the cars coming from Europe and from Asia. I think in many ways we won't have a choice in this country.'

Both Australia's major political parties have outlined plans to prioritise hybrid, hydrogen, electric and bio-fuelled cars in the future, but the Liberals have repeatedly signalled the importance of current fuel and diesel cars.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced his government would fund 50,000 charging stations in Australian homes if voted back in and $178million for charging stations around the country.

Anthony Albanese's Labor has promised to exempt electric vehicles priced under $79,659 from the import tariff (a 5 per cent tax on some imported EVs) and the fringe benefits tax (a 47 per cent take on EVs provided through employment for private use).

It's estimated that it will save EV buyers $2,000 before they drive the car away from the shop, while employers could save as much as $9,000 per year.

Labor has pledged $250million in promoting the electric vehicle market, with the legislation to come into play in July this year should they win at the election.

Meanwhile, the Greens plan for all new vehicle sales by 2030 to be electric and invest $1.2 billion in manufacturing electric vehicles and their components in Australia if they hold the balance of power this election.

The UK and France have outlined their pathway to stopping the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2040, while Germany and China have hinted at similar plans.

Germany introduced a subsidy for new electric vehicles in 2016 worth $5,916, while the UK offers a $4,388 subsidy for EVs.

New Zealand, one of the world's rising contributors to carbon emissions, are countering that by moving to ban imports of petrol and diesel cars by 2032.

The nation's Climate Commission recommended electric cars make up half of its registration by 2029, and have helped achieve that goal by offering subsidies of $7,817 for new EVs and $3,127 for used cars.

Four of the country's top 10 selling cars were utes last year, with 253,254 sales making up 24.1 per cent of the total market.

Seven utes broke their previous record for sales in 2021, including the top-selling HiLux, which broke 52,000 new purchases.

It was Australia's top-selling car for the sixth-straight year, showing its popularity among tradies, hobbyists and even families.

However, hybrid or electric utes are still not available for sale in Australia, sparking concerns that popular models like the HiLux and Ranger will no longer be on sale due if new rules are put in place to ban the sale of hybrid or electric vehicles.

In a statement to Daily Mail Australia, Toyota said it couldn't confirm its plans surrounding the model but underlined its ambitions to electrify its range.

'We are committed to electrification options for all vehicles now or into the future,' a spokesperson said.

'We have always said we expect commercial vehicles to take a little longer to ensure they meet local customer requirements, including for towing trailers, carrying loads and being required to withstand the tough conditions experienced in many parts of Australia.

'We have no announcements to make today, but HiLux will most certainly be considered as part of Toyota's future electrification plans.'

The Ford Ranger was the country's second most popular new car, narrowly losing out to the HiLux.

Hybrid versions of the jointly-developed Ranger and it's Everest SUV– engineered in Australia but manufactured in Thailand – are expected to be in overseas showrooms by 2024 in countries that have mandated strict emissions targets.

Daily Mail Australia understands hybrid versions of the new Ranger ute and Everest 4WD will eventually be a part of the local line-up.

It is unclear if the Ford Ranger Hybrid and the Ford Everest Hybrid will be petrol-electric or diesel-electric.

Ford warned Australian consumers that the country is far behind others in terms of providing public charging stations and the capabilities to charge vehicles at home.

'Infrastructure would have to improve in places like South Africa and Australia,' Ford's Global CEO Jim Farley told the Decoder podcast.

'I think it will take some time for those markets to move to full-electric.'

The Volkswagen Amarok plugin hybrid is set to be launched in Europe this year.

'Right now, we're not satisfied with the electric range of the plug-in hybrid. I'd never say never, but we're looking more towards a full electric version,' Volkswagen's Commercial Vehicle board memeber Lars Krause told Drive.

'We think it is possible. Obviously, we'd need to modify certain elements. But, yes, we are seriously considering an electric variant.'

Isuzu's ute range shot up 61.6 per cent last year, the D-Max, which is cheaper than both the Ranger and HiLux.

The company told Daily Mail Australia said they couldn't comment on future plans to develop electric versions of their utes.

'The 3.0-litre turbo-diesel powertrain in the Australian D-MAX is engineered to meet local customer and market requirements. At the moment we are not in a position to comment on future or alternative powertrain developments,' a spokesperson said.

'However, we can say we are constantly monitoring the Australian market to ensure that any product updates to the D-MAX range in the future, meet the Australian market's requirements – before committing to any changes in the local Australian product.'

Meanwhile, the Tesla Cybertruck electric ute has been pulled from sale in Australia ahead of its worldwide debut, expected to be by the end of this year.

'The Tesla Cybertruck can no longer be reserved in Australia, after Tesla shut off reservations for the Cybertruck for markets outside North America,' The Driven reports.

The cancellation of Cybertruck sales in Australia comes amid speculation the ute may be deemed too big for Australian roads by authorities.

However Tesla boss Elon Musk has also previously said the company might produce a smaller ute for global markets such as Australia.

SUVs dominated Australian dealerships with 50.6 per cent of all new cars sold, most fuelled by petrol and diesel.

Comparatively, the best-selling electric car in Australia last year was the Tesla Model 3 with 12,094 models sold, while the second place MG ZS EV saw just 1,388 sales.

In total, the country saw 20,665 EV sales in 2021, a significant increase of nearly 200 per cent from 2020 (not including Tesla) which saw barely 6,900 sales. It still only amounts for two per cent of the market.

In contrast, 54 per cent of vehicles in Norway are electric after its progressive government introduced taxes on petrol and diesel cars.

Transport amounts for about 20 per cent of Australia's total greenhouse gas emissions, which has been rising steadily over the past few decades. More than half of those emissions come from cars.

Several major manufacturers have confirmed overhauls to their processes - Volvo will stop designing all combustion engine-only cars in 2022 while Volkswagen will build electric versions of its 300-car catalogue.

Australia has committed to reducing green house gas emissions by 26 per cent of its levels in 2005 before 2030 under the Paris Agreement.

With 4X4 petrol and diesel utes owning the highest market share of new cars sold, 18.1 per cent, major car companies are going to need to address the demand from consumers for electric and hybrid options before legislation from lawmakers is introduced.

Hybrid (up 20 per cent), EV minus Tesla (up 191.1 per cent) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (up 99.4 per cent) all beat out the traditional petrol and diesel vehicles, a sign Australians are moving away from cars with harmful emissions.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... d-ute.html

EU lawmakers back effective ban on new fossil-fuel cars from 2035

BRUSSELS, May 11 (Reuters) - Lawmakers on the European Parliament's environment committee on Tuesday backed an EU plan to effectively ban new petrol and diesel car sales from 2035, while voting against proposals for tougher targets to cut car CO2 emissions within this decade.

The committee supported the proposal for a 100% cut in CO2 emissions by 2035, which would make it impossible to sell new fossil fuel-powered vehicles in the 27-country bloc.

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos- ... 022-05-11/

[Nathan]

SUVs dominated Australian dealerships with 50.6 per cent of all new cars sold, most fuelled by petrol and diesel.

Absolutely ridiculous. Only a small portion of that would be people who genuinely need a vehicle of that size, the rest it's just an inane arms race.