Family-owned Waitomo Group has opened its first Wellington station in Upper Hutt.
Cars are queuing up outside Waitomo petrol station on Fergusson Drive with Waitomo offering 91 petrol for $1.89 for 48 hours.
Local Warren Priday arrived half an hour early to get a deal and said he'd already noticed the impact of having a discount fuel provider in Upper Hutt.
"I just noticed down the road, the BP and all the other ones were $2.27 [per litre] this morning, then $2.19, down to $2.14 just as I arrived today so it's dropped already so obviously things can happen," he said.
Wellington motorists are hoping the arrival of Waitomo will mean lower petrol prices in the capital.
Waitomo managing director Jimmy Ormsby said today's opening had been the most popular with the public in Waitomo's history.
"It's just reflective of the engagement people have in fuel, you know? The Wellington region has been paying quite high prices for fuel so the fact that we're the first discounter in the region, they've been right in behind us," Mr Ormsby said.
Extra petrol deliveries have been scheduled to deal with the predicted demand and competitors in the area have already dropped their petrol prices.
Mr Ormsby said he expected 50- to 60,000 litres of petrol would be pumped on opening day.
"We're the main mode of transport for New Zealanders and that's what we're investing in," he said.
A second Wellington site will open on the Old Hutt Road in Thorndon by mid-July.
Waitomo is also planning to open in New Plymouth in July, and in Christchurch before the end of 2019.
Watch the full story on TVNZ1's Seven Sharp tonight.
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