UK fuel remains at pumps as car owners admit to not topping up despite record low prices

Fuel costs have dramatically tumbled under the coronavirus lockdown but much of it has stayed inside petrol pumps as motorists have failed to top up. Data from Carwow has revealed more than two-fifths of UK motorists have spent less than £10 on petrol during the past month. 

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  • Fuel prices will remain below £1 per litre at Asda

A total of one third of motorists have admitted they have not purchased any petrol at all over the past month during lockdown restrictions despite the historic low prices. 

Just one third of road users surveyed admitted they had taken advantage of the cheaper fuel prices. 

A total of 34 percent of road users said they had already filled up their tank in preparation of lockdown being lifted and prices rising. 

An extra 35 percent of road users said they planned on doing this within the coming weeks before restrictions were fully eased. 

Vix Leyton, consumer expert at carwow said: “For those wanting to take advantage of the low petrol and diesel prices being highlighted on forecourts, now is arguably the time to do so – providing you can do so safely. 

“[This is] before lockdown measures are eased even further and long queues begin forming outside supermarkets and stations across the UK.”

Fuel prices fell for the seventeenth consecutive week with petrol now at 104.87p per litre.

Costs are down just a few pennies from the previous week but have fallen a staggering 23p per litre since the end of January.

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Diesel costs have also fallen for another week with average costs at 111.7p per litre compared with 132.88p on January 27. 

RAC fuel watch says diesel costs were still very likely to come down from their current levels over the next couple of weeks. 

However, the experts suggest petrol savings have hit rock bottom with no change forecast for either unleaded or super unleaded fuels. 

Some forecourts have dropped prices below £1 per litre to help support motorists through the crisis.

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  • Fuel pump prices may still be 12p too high

Asda, Morrsisons and Tesco have cut costs below the historic figure for the first time in over a decade. 

Prices were under £1 per litre around late 2015 and early 2016 but discounting this small bump, costs have not been at this level since 2009.  

Before the coronavirus pandemic struck the nation, motorists across the country were battling with rising petrol and diesel costs. 

Carwow says around 30 percent of UK road users spent more than £30 per month on fuel to run their vehicles. 

One in ten motorists had spent between £51 and £60 on fuel each month while a staggering seven percent were paying over £101 per month to run their vehicle.

This figure had dropped to just one percent since travel restrictions were put into place as traffic levels nosedived.

Analysis from GoCompare claims UK drivers have saved a staggering £267million on fuel during the lockdown. 

They say that under normal circumstances owners of petrol cars spend around £1,042 per year to fuel their vehicles.

Diesel owners pay slightly more on average with costs of up to £1,265 each year on simply filling the tank. 

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