This article is adapted from one that first appeared in Forbes.
Can you picture a day when you never have to pump gasoline at the service station? You won’t even have to get out of the car. It’s not because they’ve hired more gas station attendants.
One futuristic vision is to have short-distance drones deliver pre-ordered snacks or packages while the driver waits in the car
It’s because the pump and the car can communicate with each other, work together to select your preferred fuel, and fill the tank without the driver being involved. Like gliding through E-ZPass, you’d be paying with a cloud-connected app that, by then, may be standard on most autos. If your vehicle is selfdriving, you should be able to remain happily ensconced in your bed or at your computer while your car buys the gas without you even being there.
This is the future for service stations and gasoline consumers. Today, comparison apps may seem high-tech for your neighborhood favorite, but within the next decade or two, the gas station around the corner will likely be catering to everything from hybrids, to autonomous cars, to electric vehicles, to car shares – and selling them a lot more than just regular and premium.
1. App-enabled on-demand fueling
The gas station that comes to you at your house or wherever
2. Diversity in the fuel offering
The challenge serving conventional cars, electric cars, driverless cars, and people with no cars
3. Evolving consumer segments
The digital evolution of the auto influenced by new technology and a sharing economy
4. Modernized stations with unique services
Making a digitally enabled gas station into your personal concierge
5. Personalized fuel mix
Ability to custom-mix additives to create your own fuel
6. Mobile and smart-car apps
Enhanced selection and seamless interaction between customer and site
7 . Connected cars
“Smart” nextgeneration autos with constant connection to the cloud
8. Self-driving autos
Cars that take themselves to the gas station and fuel up
9. Automated fueling and payment
No need to leave the vehicle with connected, self-driving cars
About authors
Eric Nelsen is a Chicago-based partner, Irfan Bidiwala is a Houston-based partner, Alex Kirov is a New York-based principal, and Tom Shyr is a Dallas-based engagement manager in Oliver Wyman's Energy practice. Bryan Yamhure Sepúlveda is a New York-based senior consultant in the Core Consultancy practice.
