In Auckland, 6 of 18 Gas Stations in City Core Closed “Reasonably Recently” – CleanTechnica

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New Zealand, which has been one of the fastest adopters of electric cars, has some interesting news. Thanks to reader Robert McLachlan for sharing it with us this week. According to the news report out of Auckland, New Zealand, which has a population of about 1.66 million, 6 out of 18 gas stations in the city core there shut down in recent years.

“They are going because of the inevitable electrification of everything. Liquid fuels in all their utility and horrendous effects are being consigned to history in exactly the way horse shit and coal smoke were in cities last century. Because they are no longer competitive. How long this will take is going to be fascinating to watch,” Patrick Reynolds writes for Greater Auckland.

The 6 of 18 figure could be an underestimate, as the ones that shut down are identified from Patrick’s own memory. There could be other stations he’s not aware of or doesn’t remember that also shut down. And note that the “reasonably recently” timeframe he gave means “certainly a decade, maybe quite a bit less.” That may not be as dramatic as the past year or two, but all things considered, that’s a pretty rapid period of time for that portion of gas stations to close.

There are other factors at play too — like the desirability of some of these places for higher-density, higher-value uses. However, with New Zealand trying to follow in Norway’s impressive EV uptake footsteps, and wealthier people (like those living and working in central Auckland) quicker to adopt EVs than others, the EV revolution in the city has got to be part of it.

“Kind of like bookshops, the ones that manage to outlast their competitors may experience a boom out of scarcity, as the last dinosaurs become dependent on them. Though unlike bookshops, they will all die eventually. So maybe video store is a better match,” Reynolds writes. “For another analogy; like analogue photographic products, the liquid fuels distribution industry is on the road of declining economies of scale. As EV numbers inexorably penetrate the fleet, the cost per unit of supplying the toxic soup will rise with lower volume. With or without real carbon taxes/pricing.”

He thinks the next 6 gas stations will go fairly soon. Hopefully we’ll get an update when that happens, and then another when the last 6 close. For more on the transformation there, keep up with David Waterworth’s regular updates on New Zealand EV sales. He may be Australian, but he does a good job keeping an eye on and supporting Australians’ close cousins over in New Zealand.

Very unrelated side note: If you’ve never watched the series Flight of the Conchords, I highly recommend it. It’s bloody hilarious and you’ll never look at New Zealanders the same again.

Thanks again to CleanTechnica reader Robert McLachlan for sharing this news with us.

Featured image by Robert Kozak from Pixabay.