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11. 05. 12. - 18:00

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11. 05. 12. - 18:00

Turmöl sales soar

Austria’s main discount petrol station network earned more in the first three months of this year thanks to the current developments on the energy products sector.

Turmöl – which is managed by the Upper Austrian Doppler Group – sold 15 per cent more diesel fuel and 12 per cent more Eurosuper petrol between January and March 2012 than during the first quarter of last year. The company said that business went extraordinarily well at weekends.

The success of Turmöl – which tries to be cheaper regardless of local rivals’ pricing policies – can be seen in connection with controversial occurrences on the domestic market of car fuel sales.

Economy Minister Reinhold Mitterlehner of the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) announced the creation of a car petrol pricing corridor system. Mitterlehner explained the model – which could go online later this year – was meant to ensure that domestic service stations did not charge more for fuel during holidays and long weekends than they did in the 10 days leading up to such traffic-intense periods.

Josef Bucher, who heads the Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ), attacked the government of Social Democrats (SPÖ) and ÖVP for failing to do enough for drivers. He claimed they were burdened twice – by rising car fuel prices and increasing taxes due to the SPÖ-ÖVP partnership’s latest budget consolidation pact.

Bucher also announced that his party wanted laws changed to ensure that judges and juries could sentence businesspeople caught engaging in market manipulation. The BZÖ’s key right-wing rival, the Freedom Party (FPÖ) of Heinz-Christian Strache, suggested to reform the Austrian subsidisation programme for people getting to work by car.

Climate expert Stefan Schleicher, who carries out researches for the Institute for Economic Research (WIFO), said lawmakers should take the opportunity and offer cut-price public transport tickets as an attractive alternative to motorised traffic. Schleicher called the situation a "unique chance".

Turmöl is not the only company benefiting from the ongoing car petrol increase. Markus Friesacher, who heads no-frills service station firm Free Energy Trading (FE) revealed plans to get active in Slovenia as well as operations in Austria had been prospering.

FE manages 30 low-cost service stations in Austria at the moment. Drivers can pay using their credit or bank cards. FE’s petrol stations fail to feature shops while its established competitors are increasing the number of products on offer in stores. FE does not provide washrooms to customers either. Friesacher said: "We invest a third less in our stations than our rivals."

There are more than 2,500 filling stations across Austria, around 150 fewer than in 2011. Most of them are operated by Vienna-based energy sector giant OMV but globally operating firms like BP and Shell are strongly represented in the alpine country as well.

Vienna Times

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