Motorists in the UK have cut their petrol use by more than 5%, according to the AA.
The calculations were based on the first six months of the year compared with 2010. In the past three years fuel use has fallen by 15% in total and the company claims that record-high fuel prices paired with the recession are to blame.
This drop in sales for the first six months is equal to around 517m litres and while the government scrapped the fuel increase in the latest Budget it seems to have done little to drop prices and encourage people to the pumps. In fact the drop in sales from January to June this year has deprived the Treasury of £985m in fuel duty.
The current average price of petrol in the UK is 135.03p per litre, although depending on where you live and where you buy from you could be paying up to 149.9p, this is despite the fact that the price of a barrel of oil has dropped below the $100 mark.
According to the AA, with drivers struggling to meet the cost at the forecourts and so were cutting down on how much they used their cars.
However, the big supermarkets continued to fare better with the decline than non-supermarket stations with many independents forced to go out of business.
The supermarkets stranglehold on customers was also helped by competition to offer the cheapest prices. There was some light relief for motorists as Asda cut up to 2p per litre off the price of fuel meaning customers should pay no more than 130.7p per litre for petrol and 135.7p per litre for diesel. Meanwhile Sainsbury’s announced it had made the same cut.
To work out how much it will cost you to fill up your car then go to the Parkers Cost of Motoring tool.
Want to become part of the Parkers community? Check our Facebook page or our Twitter feed.
