Corporations against free filling stations "Why can't the price be this low throughout Switzerland?"
An operator of independent petrol stations sells his petrol for 1.65 francs. Where he has set up shop, even the big companies can suddenly offer their fuel at a significantly lower price.
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- Michael Knobel runs five "Eztelpark petrol stations".
- After opening his latest branch in Gossau SG, he offers gasoline for 1.65 francs.
- Suddenly, three major competitors drop their prices from 1.86 to between 1.69 and 1.65 francs.
- Kobel criticizes the market and the pricing of the big companies.
Michael Knobel runs a number of independent petrol stations: After Füllinsdorf BL, Thayngen SH, Pfäffikon SZ and Winterthur ZH, the 44-year-old opened a branch of his Etzelpark filling station in Gossau SG on August 23. His unleaded 95 petrol currently costs 1.65 francs.
As soon as Kobel put the pumps into operation, the companies followed suit: "Within two hours, the big players in the area were matching my prices," he tells Blick.
A nearby Avia is suddenly selling fuel for CHF 1.64 instead of CHF 1.86, a Coop filling station around the corner is dropping the price from CHF 1.86 to CHF 1.69 and the BP on the other side of the road is only charging CHF 1.65, the story continues.
"The market is sick"
In contrast, Avia, which is 1.7 kilometers away as the crow flies, charges 1.86 francs, writes Blick. BP at the St. Gallen stadium also charges 1.86 francs. In other words, drivers near Kobel who drive combustion engines benefit.
"They're clearly trying to stop people filling up at my place," says Kobel, commenting on the price drop at the competition. "If the price of the other providers around my filling stations can be so low, why can't it be so low throughout Switzerland?"
The entrepreneur grumbles: "The market is sick. But wherever I open a petrol station, it works again." For his part, Kobel has now reacted to the prices of the big players - and has gone down to 1.60 francs.