Prague, 1 November 2017 - Benzina, the largest network of petrol stations in the Czech Republic owned by the Unipetrol Group, opened the 400th petrol station thus further strengthened its leading position on the market. The growth in the number of stations is closely associated with the OMV petrol stations’ takeover. Of the 65 acquired stations, 54 stations have been already taken over. The acquisition process will be completed in the first quarter of 2018. Benzina is also heavily investing in expanding and improving the quality of services. In addition to introducing new fuels, EFECTA 95 and EFECTA Diesel, it aims to unify the visual image of its stations, expand the complementary range of items and services offered as well as to modernise the Stop Cafe refreshment shops including staff training.
"Our determined efforts in the past few years put Benzina decidedly back on its feet. We gave this traditional, fading away brand name back its gloss and restored its leading role in the fuel market. Whichever way you want to look at it Benzina of today is clearly a modern, respected and trend shaping brand name. This achievement will be our gift and a great opportunity to celebrate the 60th birthday of this iconic Czech automobile brand next year,” says Marek Zouvala, Director of Unipetrol’s Benzina Registered Branch, adding: “I am also delighted that we have met our goals by attaining a 20% market share by the end of this year."
This year’s and the next year’s total investments add up more than CZK one billion. Apart from the ongoing modernization, Benzina will also introduce a range of new services next year including, for example, cashback and other mobile platform related services. The company is going to continue growing further. “After taking over all OMV stations, we expect to have a total of 411 stations in our network. However, there is not much room for building new petrol stations in the Czech Republic. We will therefore focus on expanding the existing five self-service stations but at the same time are open and ready for new acquisitions,” explains Marek Zouvala.
Benzina offers all types of fuel in its network. In addition to the EFECTA 95 and EFECTA Diesel fuels and Verva premium fuels, alternative fuels such as CNG or LPG are available to drivers at nearly 100 locations. The network also includes two recharging stations for electric cars located in Vrchlabí and Humpolec, whose operation is shared by Benzina with its business partners. “With the onset of the development of electromobility, we are ready to expand our network together with our partners. We have not forgotten about hydrogen, which will soon become part of the electromobility future. Next year, we plan to open the first hydrogen station,” concluded Marek Zouvala.
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