AA calls for fairer fuel as rural drivers pay up to £6 more to fill up

A new study by the AA has revealed that rural towns pay typically pay up to 15p per litre more for petrol at supermarkets.

According to the report, drivers who live in a rural area could pay £6 more to fill up their car compared to a motorist who lives in a larger town or city.

Luke Bosdet, the AA’s spokesperson on pump prices, outlined what needs to be done to make petrol prices fairer across the country.

He said: “Bad habits are proving hard to shake off among the UK’s fuel retailers and that is not solely the fault of the supermarkets.

“Over the decades, a supermarket policy of shaving a penny or two off what other local fuel stations charge has stunted competition within those higher-priced communities: oil company-branded forecourts could have undercut those expensive supermarkets, but they were happy to play along.”

Whilst the price of petrol has dropped over several months, following rapid price rises in 2022 due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in June 2023 prices mostly remained constant.

During the month, the average cost for a litre of petrol was 143.6p per litre, whilst supermarkets offered it at an average of 2.1p per litre less.

However, despite calls for fairer pump pricing by the Competitions and Markets Authority, the AA also noted that fuel prices varied by up to 6p per litre depending on the community.

Figures published by the AA from July 17, 2023, reveal that the cheapest region for both petrol and diesel is Northern Ireland, where it retails for 139.7p per litre and 138.6p per litre respectively.

In comparison, the South East continues to be the most expensive part of the UK to buy fuel, with a litre of petrol costing 144.8p and diesel selling for 146.1p per litre.

Across the country, the cheapest brand for petrol was Sainsbury’s, which averaged at 139.77p per litre, whilst Asda offered cheaper diesel, at 141.89p per litre.

However, with big disparities across the country remaining, the Energy Secretary Grant Shapps has warned that fuel retailers must stop overcharging drivers at the pumps.

Luke outlined how the talks could help to make petrol and diesel prices lower and more consistent across the country.

He explained: “This week’s head-to-head with the Energy Secretary and a scheme of voluntary pump price transparency in August will hopefully put a rocket under the fuel retailers but the proof will be in the pump pricing over the summer holiday period and beyond.”