More Austrian service stations

Not only in Germany, but also in Austria, the number of service stations open to the public has recently risen slightly, as shown by the industry data recently published by the Fachverband der Mineralölindustrie (FVMI). The association's service station statistics show a total of 2,748 stations at the end of last year, 15 more than in the previous year (2,733). In addition, there are 273 diesel dispensing stations for the agricultural sector. The number of highway service stations remained unchanged at 72.

The slight increase in the number of stations is attributable to one group of service stations. In its statistics, the FVMI distinguishes between the major brand stations (bp, ENI, Jet, OMV and Shell) and other service station brands such as Turmöl, Genol, Avia and A1. While the number of major-brand stations decreased by 30 units from 1,352 previously to 1,322 last year, the other service station brands recorded an increase of 45 stations from 1,381 in 2020 to 1,426 last year.

The 1,322 major-branded stations are distributed among the following networks: 321 ENI (- 1), 263 Shell (- 2), 227 bp (- 30), 213 OMV (+ 2), 161 Jet (+ 2), and 137 Avanti (OMV) (- 1). Of the 1,322 branded stations, 85 percent (1,127) have a store and 63.5 percent (840) have a bistro.

The significant decline at bp is due to the termination of the long-standing partnership between Doppler and bp last year. The Doppler Group, headquartered in Wels, had announced this in the summer of 2021 with a view to a uniform brand presence. All existing bp service stations in the Doppler network were to be gradually reflagged as Turmöl service stations. This also resulted in the significant growth in the Turmöl network, which increased to 247 stations last year (2020: 213). This makes the Doppler Group the largest private service station operator in Austria after the international mineral oil brands.

There was also growth in the number of service stations with electric charging infrastructure, which increased from 71 previously to 84 last year. CNG could be refueled at 133 service stations in Austria and LPG at 40. In addition, there are five OMV stations where hydrogen charging infrastructure is also available. "Our member companies have already embarked on the path to a climate-neutral future, and work is ongoing to expand the range of products on offer at filling stations in order to pave the way for the mobility turnaround in Austria," emphasizes Hedwig Doloszeski, Managing Director of the FVMI.