Unmanned service stations are on the rise in Spain

According to the latest report by the National Association of Automatic Service Stations, this format has seen a 49% growth since the pandemic with a total of 1,900 locations.

Spain’s National Association of Automatic Service Stations (Aesae) has recently published its latest report on the rise of unmanned service stations in the country, which amounted to an increase of 49% since the pandemic.

According to the study, there are a total of 1,900 outlets of this format, a number that has been on the rise since March of 2020. Last year, this model also accounted for 18,3% of the total Spanish fuel retail market, four points above data from March of 2021 with 13,5% of them belonging to traditional fuel retail brands.

"Despite economic uncertainty caused by inflation and the energy crisis, refueling points have continued to be developed throughout Spain and the transformation of traditional gas stations to the unmanned model has increased, seeking greater efficiency," said the president of Aesae, Manuel Jiménez.

Although this is the second consecutive year of growth, the association warned that it could come to a halt in the coming years. This would be due to the regulations by some districts to prevent the proliferation of this model. Some of these regulate the minimum distances between new unmanned stations and adjacent buildings.