According to Gaspy's Mike Newton, NPD seems to be "particularly aggressive with their pricing". Its Heretaunga St branch in Hastings is well involved in the battle. Photo / Warren Buckland
According to Gaspy's Mike Newton, NPD seems to be "particularly aggressive with their pricing". Its Heretaunga St branch in Hastings is well involved in the battle. Photo / Warren Buckland
New players in the petrol market in Hastings have created an ongoing price war that has driven fuel prices in part of the city down by close to 30 cents a litre, data shows.
The arrival of discount self-service operators NPD and Waitomo down the road from each other inwestern Hastings came with a promise of cheaper fuel.
A few months after their opening, they’re still “duking it out” with their competitors and have turned the city into one of the cheapest fuel stops in New Zealand, an expert says.
Mike Newton, director of the popular gas price information app Gaspy, said most of the competing stations sit on Heretaunga St West or Karamu Rd, just out from the Hastings CBD.
“Looking at the average price of 91 for Hastings city, there was already a gap of about 10 cents between Pak‘nSave, Gull and Waitomo, when compared to the other larger players,” Newton told Hawke’s Bay Today.
“Then NPD came in hot in mid-June, setting an opening special price 10 cents lower again. The three ‘discount’ brands matched it and they’ve been duking it out ever since.”
Newton said the battle between the operators had definitely helped keep prices low, as the gap between the “discount” brands and other major players was now between 15c and 30c.
“Significant savings can be made without needing to go too far out of the way.”
Newton compared data from two weeks ago and saw that the ‘discount’ brands in Hastings were sitting at around $2.44, while the average for all brands in the city was $2.58.
Hawke’s Bay as a region still lags behind Southland, the cheapest region in New Zealand for fuel, with an average of $2.66 for fuel compared to $2.63.
The national average at the petrol pump is $2.73.
Waitomo Group CEO Simon Parham said it was "awesome" that the company's entry into the market has made it more competitive. Photo / Paul Taylor
Hamilton and Dunedin averages sat at $2.64, Tauranga and Christchurch on $2.67, Wellington on $2.79 and Auckland, with its regional fuel tax, on $2.84.
Newton did note that comparing cities to regions was “generally a little flawed” due to the high prices of remote stations outside of the cities.
So, what do the battling stations have to say about their ongoing scuffle?
Waitomo group CEO Simon Parham was the only one to respond to questioning from Hawke’s Bay Today.
“Since opening our Mahora Fuel Stop in April, we’ve had great support from the local community,” Parham said.
“That tends to be the effect when Waitomo enters a new market, delivering competition and choice for Kiwi motorists.
“For example, following our entry into Wellington in 2019, prices dropped by up to 20 to 30 cents a litre. That’s savings that go directly back into Kiwi pockets and the local economy.”
He said if local pricing in Hastings has got more competitive because Waitomo was now operating in town, that was “awesome” - and it showed the company was keeping its promise to deliver fairer fuel pricing.
Discount brands like Pak'nSave fuel are engaging in a price war in Hastings, with larger brands offering higher prices. Photo / Warren Buckland
Newton said it wasn’t uncommon for discount brands to drive prices down in cities and that the big brands operating nearby are usually forced to follow suit to a degree in order to remain competitive.
He said it was likely that many people either didn’t know or were unwilling to seek the best deals.
“It is clear though that when you have a 31 cent gap between lowest and highest price in the relatively small city of Hastings that there are still plenty of customers that are either unaware of the savings on offer or are unwilling to go out of their way for those savings.”
Newton also noted that NPD seemed to be “particularly aggressive with their pricing” as they keep expanding into the North Island.
“Other ‘discount’ brands are forced to match their prices because price is the only thing that they can really compete on.”
NPD and Foodstuffs (Pak‘nSave fuel) were approached for comment.
Mitchell Hageman joined Hawke’s Bay Today in late January. From his Napier base, he writes regularly on social issues, arts and culture, and the community.
