You will soon have to drive further to get your fuel, petrol stations in the Netherlands are slowly disappearing.
Petrol stations will not become completely extinct like a dinosaur in the coming years. For the time being, we are happily chugging along in our petrol and diesel guzzlers. However, the supply of petrol stations has reached its peak in the Netherlands. According to research by ING, the saw is cutting through the supply.
Halving the number of petrol stations
While there are only more charging stations for electric cars, the number of petrol stations is actually decreasing. There are currently 4,131 petrol stations in the Netherlands. ING expects that there will be around 2,000 left in the next five to ten years. Unmanned petrol stations and pumps in the border region in particular are disappearing. The latter has always suffered from competition in Belgium and Germany, which has not become any easier in recent years.
Gas stations are becoming fewer and fewer because the profits are not there. With a manned pump with a shop, an entrepreneur can still make some extra turnover by selling food, drinks and stuff for the car. Or possibly offering a car wash. This is not the case with an unmanned pump.
Still a big turnover now
At the moment, there is nothing wrong with petrol station owners. Turnover is usually fine, because they also benefit from the high fuel prices. In 2022, petrol station owners booked a record turnover of 12.9 billion euros according to ING Research. An increase of 18 percent compared to 2021. But that is in the short term. In the long term, it is a different story, when there are more and more electric cars and fewer cars need fuel.
The big boys will be around the longest. You don’t have to worry about a Shell or a BP. It’s the small gas station owners, often family businesses, who will be the first to disappear from the streets. The transition to only offering charging stations often requires a (too) large financial investment.
There is a chance that you will have to get your fuel elsewhere in the next 10 years if the number of petrol stations in the Netherlands is actually halved, as ING expects.
Via: Telegraph
