The old-school Australian fuel brand is making its return to a servo near you
Your local petrol station may be set to receive a vintage facelift this year, with news Caltex Australia will transition its name to Ampol over the next three years, commencing in 2020.
The move comes after U.S. oil company Chevron terminated the licensing agreement allowing Caltex Australia to use the Caltex name.
Ampol was originally founded as the Australian Motorists Petrol Company in 1936 in an effort to combat unfair petrol prices, later merging with the Australian arm of Caltex in 1995.
Following the merge, the brand name Ampol was phased out and hasn’t been seen on Australian service stations for over 20 years.
Consumers can expect to begin seeing the first newly branded stores in the middle of the year, with co-branded Caltex and Woolworths stores also included in the makeover. All up there are more than 1900 Caltex sites nationwide.
According to Caltex, the rebrand is an effort to revitalise a classic Australian brand and tap into what it describes as the “deep local heritage and expertise” that makes Ampol a “trusted brand by Australian consumers”.
“Ampol is an iconic Australian name – a brand which reflects our deep Australian heritage and expertise,” Managing Director and CEO of Caltex Australia, Julian Segal, said.
“Our market research confirmed that Ampol continues to be regarded as a trusted brand by Australian consumers – even those who weren’t born when the brand was retired. Our decision to bring Ampol back reflects the focus we still have today on our heritage of friendly and efficient service, high-quality Australian-made products and being part of the local community.
“Many of our employees and customers still have strong memories of what Ampol stood for in Australia. It’s a brand that our people, partners and customers can be proud to be part of helping to recreate and revitalise and it remains a perfect fit for the modern company we are today.
“Transitioning to an Australian-owned brand will give us the freedom and independence to evolve here in Australia. Everything else about our business remains the same – including the development and delivery of high-quality premium fuels to all of our customers.”
For now and into its Ampol-branded future, Caltex assures consumers (including StarCard customers) that it’s business as usual.
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Caltex to rebrand as Ampol from 2020
