The goal is to reach 15 stations by the end of the year, and with this expansion plan, the low-cost brand will invest 17 million in Portugal and create 61 jobs, according to a report by ECO.

The company is preparing to open a new station in Trofa in July, the seventh in the country, and has already started construction in Matosinhos, Abrantes, Loures and Póvoa do Varzim.

“The reason we came to Portugal was due to the geographical proximity and because Portugal needed a different competitor with a lower price,” said Tiago Preguiça, director of expansion and institutional relations for Portugal at Plenergy.

The manager explains that the group has already invested 10 million in the seven gas stations, but that the goal is to reach the end of the year with €17 million invested.

So far, the Spanish company has hired 34 people, and the goal is to reach 61 by the end of the year. Tiago Preguiça notes that “whenever they open a station, they hire three people.”

Within two or three years, the Spanish group aims to have “at least one station in each of the districts of mainland Portugal.”

Supplied by the main Iberian oil operators, the Spanish group guarantees a price 10 to 15% below the average, meaning that it sells a litre of fuel between 15 and 20 cents cheaper than the best-known gas stations.

Tiago Preguiça explains that the reduced price is due to the fact that “lots of land are smaller”, “there are no convenience stores or night shifts” and “they control the entire operation (customer service, IT systems). The director of expansion and institutional relations for Portugal at Plenergy also highlights that the speed of refuelling is also an advantage — with a three-minute wait.

At the end of last year, Plenergy opened its first gas station in the city of Guarda. It currently has six gas stations nationwide (Viana do Castelo, Cartaxo, Paços de Ferreira and Vila Nova de Gaia and Santa Maria da Feira).

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