Uniti Expo 2026: A Look at the Future of Gas Stations and Car Washes from Stuttgart

Uniti Expo 2026 ran from 19 to 21 May at the Landesmesse Stuttgart. Three days, thousands of operators and industry leaders, and a single overriding question across every stand and session: how do you run a service station or car wash successfully in 2026? Frekuent was there — and we had a lot to talk about.

Europe's most important event for service stations and car wash

Uniti Expo is the largest and most important trade fair in Germany and across Europe for the service station and car wash sectors. Every product and service an operator needs today — from fuel technology and digital payments to car wash systems and convenience retail — comes together under one roof in Stuttgart.

This year the agenda reflected where the industry is heading. Sessions like Round Table Discussion: The Future of AI and Transforming the Coffee Corner into a Revenue Engine set the tone: operators are no longer just managing infrastructure — they're building customer experiences. The conversations in the halls backed that up.

What Frekuent presented

We used Uniti Expo to share what we've been building — and to test it against the real-world challenges operators brought to us.

AI-powered incident resolution chatbot. When a machine goes down, operators don't want to wait. Our chatbot handles incident resolution automatically, reducing response time and keeping machines earning. We shared live use cases from Ballenoil, Galp, and Air-Serv — three operators running high-volume, unattended environments where uptime is everything.

Tokenisation. Our tokenisation solution links a customer's payment method to their identity across every Frekuent-enabled machine. One tap, recognised everywhere. For operators, it means a direct relationship with the customer — real purchase history, real loyalty mechanics, real data to act on.

EV charging, built for operators. Our EV charger solution goes beyond accepting a card. It includes over-stay charging — an automatic surcharge when a vehicle occupies a bay beyond the session time — and subscription models so operators can offer regular drivers a fixed monthly plan. Revenue management for charging infrastructure, not just payment processing.

Conversations worth having

The first evening, we joined the networking afterparty. It turned out to be one of the most productive moments of the trip — direct conversations with operators and potential clients in a context where people speak frankly about what's working and what isn't.

What came through consistently: cashless is no longer a question. Every serious operator either has it or is actively moving toward it. The real question now is which platform they trust to run their business on — one that handles payments, manages incidents, builds loyalty, and scales with their fleet without creating new complexity.

That's the conversation Frekuent is built for.

The work continues after Stuttgart

Uniti Expo confirmed what we already see in our own markets: operators in fuel retail, car wash, and EV charging are looking for a platform that connects payment, data, and customer loyalty in a single place. Not three tools bolted together. One platform that earns its place.

If you operate unattended machines and want to see what Frekuent looks like in practice — including the chatbot, tokenisation, and EV charging features we presented in Stuttgart — we're ready for that conversation.

Talk to our team and see what Frekuent can do for your operation.
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