At a certain point of EV adoption, selling gas won’t be a very profitable business, because fewer and fewer cars will need it. But there will still be some cars that need gas, that final, say, 30% of ICE cars that are still on the road. But if all or most gas stations shut down at roughly the same time, because they operate under the same business conditions, then those last few ICE drivers will be pretty out of luck, no?

To be clear, this is not an argument that we shouldn’t electrify and decarbonize as fast as possible. I’m more interested in the logistics of managing that transition. And I’m sure that gas stations are not the only case of this phenomenon.

  • bluGill@fedia.io
    4·
    9 hours ago

    Gas makes money. The margins are low - but the volumes are high. Most people are not buying what is inside so while margins are higher the profit is about the same

    • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
      21·
      8 hours ago

      The reality is that gas station profit margins on fuel are famously thin. After accounting for the wholesale cost of gasoline, taxes, and credit card processing fees (which can be a significant percentage of the transaction), the net profit on a gallon of gas can be just a few cents. This makes relying on fuel sales alone a risky proposition. The market is volatile, and a small swing in wholesale prices can wipe out your already slim margins.

      https://petrosoftinc.com/blog/how-do-gas-stations-grab-profit/