UK motorists pay more than European neighbours for fuel

UK consumers are forking out over £6.2 million an hour at petrol pumps, according to research from uSwitch.com. This in-depth study of petrol and diesel prices in France, Spain, Italy, Germany and the UK over the past eight years shows that every time a British driver fills up, they are paying an average of 12% more than their European neighbours. In fact, since the year 2000, UK motorists have consistently paid 20% more for their petrol and diesel compared to drivers from the other four largest European countries. In contrast, the Spanish pay 16% less for petrol than anyone else at just 96p per litre.

In the last year alone, the price of petrol in the UK has risen 17% to an average of 119.5p per litre from £0.98p per litre. These high prices have left UK consumers paying 7% (8p) more per litre for petrol and 17% (23p) more for diesel than their European neighbours. This rising cost of motoring adds further strain to the pockets of consumers who have already faced hikes in the cost of car insurance and tax. The average British driver is now paying £67 to fill their tank which is £1,753 a year (£4.80 a day).

Taxing Times

The amount of fuel tax levied by the UK, French, Italian, German and Spanish Governments also varies significantly. Germany sees the highest taxation with £0.73p (or 62%) of the £1.16p per litre taken as tax. France pays the second highest tax at 61% with the UK coming in third at 59%. However, UK consumers see the highest taxation on diesel at 57%.

There has been some easing of the burden for British drivers. Historically, fuel tax has been higher and there has been a fall. Tax was at its highest in 2000 when it accounted for £0.63p
(78%)of the £0.81p per litre,and with the exception of 2003, when fuel tax and VAT rose 3%, the UK has seen a 3% fall each year on average. British drivers have also escaped the worst – in 2001 German and Spanish drivers were being taxed at 81% for their fuel.

Currently, the British Government takes £0.70p per litre in tax. Without this, consumer’s fuel would be 59% cheaper, costing just £0.50p a litre. In fact, UK consumers currently pay £54.7 billion a year on petrol with the Government taking £33.4 billion in tax. In comparison, our European neighbours are seeing an average of £33.2 billion of tax go to their Governments.

The cost of fuel across Europe

Not only does Spain boast a better quality of life with low taxation, cheaper essential goods such as energy and food, and the most hours of sunshine, Spanish drivers also have the cheapest fuel bills. They have consistently seen the lowest fuel prices since the year 2000. Spanish motorists currently pay 16% less than drivers from any of the other ‘Big 5’ countries, paying just £0.96p per litre for their petrol. A full tank of petrol will set drivers back £54 - £13 (20%) less than the UK where a full tank costs an average of £67. French drivers, with the second lowest petrol bills, pay £1.14p per litre, £64 for a full tank.

Total spend by country

In terms of spend on petrol as a nation, Germany forks out the most, £82.2 billion a year - £19.6 billion more than the second highest spenders, the Italians (£62.5 billion). But, with these countries having the most cars out of the ‘Big 5’ (47.9 million and 36.5 million cars respectively), this is to be expected. The UK ranks fourth for number of cars, but ranks third for annual spend on petrol. UK consumers are paying £54.7 billion (£1,753 each) a year, placing them ahead of France who, with more cars on the road (31.5 million), collectively spend £1.8 billion a year less. This is down to UK drivers paying the most at the pumps.

To set these prices in context, uSwitch.com analysed the cost of filling up five best-selling cars. Filling the fuel tank of a Ford Fiesta in the UK sets drivers back £54 a time or £1,422 a year on average. The same car in Spain is 20% cheaper to run, costing the equivalent of £43 to fill - £1,144 a year - an annual saving of £278. The BMW 3 Series costs an average of £1,992 across the countries examined to fuel for a year, but UK car owners pay 6% more than this, forking out £2,111. In comparison Spanish consumers pay £1,698, 15% less than any of their European neighbours.

Gap narrows

Although the UK currently pays the highest price for fuel, the gap is actually narrowing. In the year 2000, German and Italian consumers paid 23% and 18% less for their petrol respectively than UK drivers. Fuel in these two countries is now 2% (3p per litre) cheaper.

Worse yet to come

Analysts predict the cost of petrol will soar to a record breaking £1.50p per litre before 2009 adding an extra £457 a year on to British motorists’ fuel bills. Consumers in some parts of the country are already paying as much as £1.33p a litre for petrol. To try and ease the strain, uSwitch.com is launching a prize draw for motorists to have their car fuel paid for the whole year.

Mark Monteiro, insurance expert at uSwitch.com, comments: “Although the Government has postponed the 2p rise in fuel duty until October, consumers still have a right to feel hard done by. We currently pay 7% more to fill our cars with petrol than our European neighbours, forking out an average of £1,753 a year to run our cars. Price cuts of up to 4p per litre at the forecourts of some of our largest supermarkets have been a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, supermarkets have a small market share (12%) in petrol retail, so we need to see larger brands follow suit.

“Cash-strapped consumers are juggling price increases across all fronts. Petrol prices are yet another rising cost to contend with adding further strain to already stretched finances. As a direct result of these high prices it would be no surprise to see motorists leaving their cars at home and using other methods of transport. However, drivers who are reliant on their cars for business or live in remote areas will be hardest hit – for them, leaving the car at home is not an option.”