In Conversation
Facing up to a different future
FOR TODAY’S CONSUMER THE CONVENIENCE OF BUYING FUEL AT THE SAME TIME AS DOING A SUPERMARKET SHOP
REMAINS AN ATTRACTIVE PROPOSITION, WITH SUPERMARKET FUEL PURCHASES ACCOUNTING FOR 47% OF THE UK’S TOTAL
SALES; BUT AS ONLINE SHOPPING CONTINUES TO INCREASE AND THE USE OF ALTERNATIVE FUELS GROWS, CHANGES ARE
IN THE PIPELINE
“Some traders are feeling quite gloomy
about diesel’s prospects and the effects of its
demonisation are fi ltering down to the public.
“Diesel concerns are leading many people
to put off buying decisions, although there is
a slight shift back to petrol vehicles. Hybrids
make up the biggest share of alternatively
fuelled vehicles, but fi gures show that the
growth in electric vehicles (EV) is actually
decreasing.
Working in conjunction with an electric
future
DFA chief executive Teresa Sayers is also a member
of the European group working on new fuel labelling
The members of the Downstream Fuel
Association (DFA) – Tesco, Sainsbury’s, the
Co-op, Morrisons and Mabanaft – all have
dominant volume roles in the current fuel
retailing sector. With changes ahead, Fuel
Oil News met with the DFA’s chief executive,
Teresa Sayers for an update.
“The industry faces tremendous
changes with the push for automation and
electrifi cation, plus the news that new petrol/
diesel cars face a ban at some point in the
future,” said Teresa.
“This is the direction of travel and we’re
certainly not ignoring it!”
“Having encouraged a big uptake of diesel
vehicles, the consumption of diesel remains
the same , and will do for some time, with
the effects of Dieselgate having just a slight
impact on our members. However, the future
is likely to be very different.
This January, the Society of Motor
Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) reported
that 27% less diesel cars were sold than in
January 2017
“The role that fuel retailers will be asked to
play in building up the country’s EV refueling
infrastructure is of considerable interest to us.
Clarity is still needed over whether provision
will be mandated,” said Teresa, who argued
with the select committee that large retail
parks are far better places to refuel than
forecourts, due to the time required to get a
suffi cient charge.
“Many questions need to be answered,
not least the defi nition of ‘a large fuel retailer’.
It looks likely that the onus to build up the EV
charging infrastructure will fall, in part, on large
fuel retailers, but in what form? “Presently
we don’t have much of an EV market, so the
government needs to look at the whole picture
both practically and pragmatically. It will
take a multi-pronged approach to encourage
EV uptake, perhaps including a heavily
incentivised scrappage scheme.
“Studies also show that people would
prefer to charge at home, although it’s
expected that at least 40% will not be able to
do this, so there will be a need for a publicly
accessible charging infrastructure
“The speed of a fast and convenient EV
transition depends very much on how quickly
government wants fuel retailers to roll out the
charging infrastructure.
What are the prospects for E10?
“There were warm words in the Government’s
response to the RTFO consultation but it
fell short of mandating E10 which is what’s
needed for a smooth transition,” said Teresa.
“It’s been left to the industry to bring E10
to market, but to do this there’s got to be an
attractive environment for take-up, and the
market’s not ready. As the obligation to blend
Continued on page 18
Future automation – a self-driving truck with head up display on the road
Fuel Oil News | April 2018 17