A PETROL war is set to break out in Highbridge soon as Asda’s new filling station takes shape. The company have already vowed to sell fuel at the lowest possible price having already opened 15 stand-alone sites this year with express style shops on the forecourts. The Highbridge station has taken over part of the car park and will open in the next few weeks once work is complete.

Asda’s President and CEO Andy Clarke said: “Customers tell us that a convenient and great value shopping experience is important to them. Asda is known for its low fuel prices and has been a price leader across the board for 50 years – we are now redefining value retailing, tackling the rapidly changing market head on”.

“We have set out a clear ambition to lead online and expand further into London and the South East, opening 100 petrol stations and 1,000 Click and Collect sites by 2018 as part of five year strategy. Our Grocery Home Shopping is already growing at more than 20% year on year and click and collect will allow us to bring Asda value to even more customers with the acquisition of these 15 new petrol stations.”

However Highbridge already has a petrol Murco petrol station with a combined Spar store so it will be interesting to see how much Asda pitch their prices at when they open. The owners believe there will be a spike at first as people try out the novelty of the new fuel station but things will settle down. Plus there are two more fuel stations in Burham who sell fuel at around the same price as Murco.

A spokesman for the Spar and fuel station said that they currently sell their diesel at 109.9p per litre while Asda advertise their fuel at 106.7p in Weston-super-Mare. The supermarket giant recently cut prices by two pence a litre as they battled Sainsburys and Tesco for market share who are selling at around 108.5p depending on the site.

However Murco say their offering is different from Asda as people like the personal touch as their’s is a manned site complete with a shop and the majority of customers still pay in cash. Another factor is they are on the road and customers can see if they are busy while Asda will not enjoy passing trade but will attract mainly their shoppers and locals who get to know they are there.

Will Asda win the petrol war? Your views to harry.mottram@nqsw.co.uk