UK: MFG dumps auto-LPG in favour of EV chargers
The UK’s forecourt operator will take LPG dispensers out of all sites by 2024 after deeming it commercially unviable.
The Motor Fuel Group (MFG), the largest independent forecourt operator in the UK, has said that supplying auto-LPG is no longer commercially viable. The company plans to remove auto-LPG from all its forecourts by 2024.
MFG had to announce its plans through the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) because of the preliminary investigation by the CMA into the purchase of Morrisons Supermarkets and forecourts by MFG’s US private equity owners.
“MFG submits that auto-LPG is no longer an important product category for modern petrol station forecourt businesses due to a continued industry-wide decrease in demand. This decrease in demand means that revenues are low and will continue to decline, thereby making any continued investments, including periodic testing of the facilities, commercially unviable. Accordingly, MFG plans to remove auto-LPG from all of its sites between 2022 and 2024,” said the company in its stamen to the CMA.
The fuel retailer believes the removal of LPG dispensers from a number of sites will help introduce EV charging hubs and better grocery offerings. Five sites will be the first to undergo this process.
The CMA gave MFG permission to remove auto-LPG from the five sites, and said it would be allowed to remove it from additional sites, subject to prior written consent.
