Market study into retail fuel
In December 2018 we commenced a market study looking into the factors that may affect competition for the supply of retail petrol and diesel used for land transport throughout New Zealand.
Our study looked at whether the market is working well for consumers over the long term by examining things like the choices available to consumers, the price and quality of the fuel and services on offer, as well as levels of investment, innovation and profitability in the sector.
Full terms of reference for the study can be found hereopen_in_new.
We have engaged with and gathered evidence from a wide range of stakeholders, including the fuel industry, motoring groups, consumer groups and everyday consumers as part of our study. Information relating to the study, including working papers, submissions, our draft report, and a timeline are available through the links below.
We published our final report on 5 December 2019. We found that an active wholesale market does not exist in New Zealand, and this is weakening price competition in the retail market. Our final report includes recommendations for improving competition primarily in the wholesale market, as well as recommendations to help consumers make more informed purchasing decisions.
Learn more about the Government’s response to our market studyopen_in_new.
Media briefing live stream
We held a media briefing on our final Retail Fuel Market Study Report on Thursday 5 December 2019 which was publicly available through live stream.