The price of filling up with diesel in the UK is higher than in the rest of Europe, new research has found.
A new study by the RAC Foundation has found that the UK's average diesel price of £1.13 per litre tops the table of the most expensive places to fill up in Europe, well ahead of second-place Italy (£1.10 per litre), and significantly more expensive than in Sweden (£1.09) and Denmark (£1.03).
According to the study, the cheapest places to fill up with diesel in Europe are Lithuania (£0.74), Poland (£0.77) and Luxembourg (£0.78).
The full table of results is listed below.
- UK - £1.13 per litre
- Italy - £1.10
- Sweden - £1.09
- Denmark - £1.03
- Portugal - £1.03
- The Netherlands - £1.01
- Belgium - £1.00
- Finland - £0.99
- Ireland - £0.98
- Malta - £0.97
- Cyprus - £0.96
- France - £0.94
- Romania - £0.94
- Slovenia - £0.94
- Croatia - £0.93
- Germany - £0.92
- Estonia - £0.88
- Greece - £0.88
- Hungary - £0.87
- Spain - £0.87
- Austria - £0.85
- Slovakia - £0.85
- Bulgaria - £0.82
- Czech Republic - £0.82
- Latvia - £0.81
- Luxembourg - £0.78
- Poland - £0.77
- Lithuania - £0.74
The RAC Foundation says it may be cheaper for drivers heading to Europe this summer to fill up with diesel on the continent, rather than in the UK. That said, the driver of a Ford Focus - which has a 55-litre fuel tank - can still expect to pay around £3.30 more to fill up in Europe now than they would have done a week before the EU referendum. Since the UK's vote to leave the EU last month, the value of the pound against the Euro has dropped, meaning bigger bills overall for drivers travelling abroad.
The reason why the UK's diesel price is so high, the RAC Foundation explained, is because it is the only country in Europe where the duty (tax) paid on diesel is the same as that for petrol. The tax rate for both fuels is currently 57.9p per litre.
It's a different picture when it comes to petrol prices, however, where the UK is only the eighth most expensive country to fill up in, with an average price of £1.12 per litre. The most expensive country is The Netherlands, which charges £1.29 per litre, and the cheapest country is Poland, where drivers can expect to pay just £0.81 per litre.
In the weeks following the Brexit referendum, motoring bodies, including the RAC roadside assistance group, warned that fuel prices in the UK could rise by as much as 5%. In reality, however, prices have remained largely stable, with the drop in the value of the pound against the US dollar offset by falling oil prices.
