Costco Wholesale Corp on Sunday announced that it is to begin providing fuel services to its members at its branch in Taoyuan’s Jhongli District (中壢), starting on Thursday.
Costco Wholesale Taiwan Ltd vice president Wang Yu-mei (王友玫) said the Jhongli gas station would be self-service, but Costco employees would be on hand if customers need assistance.
Costco is to buy its gasoline and diesel from state-owned CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油), Wang said.
The company is likely to adopt a floating price mechanism similar to that of CPC and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化), a privately owned fuel supplier, she said.
Asked to comment on rumors that Costco plans to sell fuel at NT$3 per liter cheaper than its competitors, Wang said that the company is aiming to offer the best fuel prices in the nation.
“If Costco were selling fuel today, we would be selling it at NT$21 per liter for super diesel, NT$23.3 per liter for 95 unleaded and NT$25.3 per liter for 98 unleaded,” she said, adding that the goal would be to provide more competitive prices for the firm’s members.
During the initial phase, payments for fuel at Costco can only be made with Costco affinity cards issued by Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行), Wang said, without elaborating if members would ultimately be able to pay in cash.
Costco has 12 warehouses in Taiwan and a domestic membership of 2.6 million.
Responding to Costco’s announcement, CPC said that the fuel services to be offered by Costco would not affect its own business because the latter’s service is only available to Costco members.
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