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Page added on April 7, 2013
Fuel Consumption has Fallen more than 20% in the UK Due to High Oil Prices
Petrol stations in the UK have noticed the volume of fuel that they sell fall significantly over the past five years as high prices have forced people to buy more fuel efficient cars, and drive less, in order to reduce their fuel bill. Petrol sales have fallen by more than 20% as oil prices have climbed to record highs.
A recent study by the Automobile Association (AA) shows that the total sales of petrol and diesel fuel around the country has fallen from 37.6 billion litres in 2007, to 34.2 billion litres last year. There has also been a shift in the mix of fuel that was sold, with more people preferring diesel cars now. In 2007 22.9 billion litres of petrol were sold compared to just 17.4 billion litres last year, whereas sale of diesel rose from 14.8 billion litres in 2007 to 16.7 billion litres in 2012.
Edmund King, the president of the AA, explained that a “greater take-up of diesel cars and smaller petrol vehicles has contributed to this overall decline in UK fuel sales over the long term. However, soaring pump prices have taken a huge toll on petrol sales more recently – during the 10p-a-litre price surges last March and October, pump sales of petrol fell by up to five per cent.”
This trend to buy more fuel efficient cars in an effort to spend less at the pump is likely to continue as the price of oil looks unlikely to fall anytime soon whilst the world economy is still trying to recover from the 2008 crash.
By. Joao Peixe of Oilprice.com
10 Comments on "Fuel Consumption has Fallen more than 20% in the UK Due to High Oil Prices"
Arthur on Sun, 7th Apr 2013 8:44 pm
Contraction in full swing, but no real pain, yet, as the west still has a lot of buffers.
The last trade you want to pick is new car calesman.
DC on Sun, 7th Apr 2013 10:34 pm
Wait a minute here, the *British* are buying ‘fuel-efficient’ gas-burners now too? I thought they UK all-ready had a great many of those. Sure the London banksters dont drive econ-boxes, but I was of the impression most people UK didnt drive SUVs 2 blocks to get a drive-through latte like there amerikan counterparts.
Looks like the everyones buying ‘fuel-efficent gas-burner trope is being used to describe demand destruction, even in countries that were highly efficient before the contraction set in.
Kenz300 on Mon, 8th Apr 2013 12:55 am
If you don’t like the high price of fuel you have a few choices you can make.
You can walk more, ride a bicycle more or take mass transit more.
If you need to drive you can get a fuel efficient vehicle. there are many 40 MPG vehicles in the show rooms that can replace those 12 MPG gas guzzlers. Many of these high mileage vehicles did not exist a few years ago.
If you double the fuel economy of your vehicle the price of fuel can double without any increase cost to the family budget.
Bring on the electric, biofuel, flex-fuel, hybrid, CNG and LNG fueled vehicles. We need a choice at the pump. It is time to end the oil monopoly on transportation fuels.
The high price of oil will make us all think a little more about how we consume energy. Energy efficiency might become a deciding factor when you buy a home, car, furnace or appliance in the future.
BillT on Mon, 8th Apr 2013 1:08 am
One problem with switching to more fuel efficient cars, cost. As incomes drop (and they are all over the Western countries) fewer will be able to buy a new car or even a more efficient used one. Car sales are dropping almost as fast as gas sales. We may never run out of oil, we will just run out of money to buy it as the whole world settles into a 3rd world lifestyle.
DC on Mon, 8th Apr 2013 4:42 am
Sigh,and here I thought Ken was making some halting progress on this ‘choice’ kick of his. Well, maybe progress of sorts. He didnt include hydrogen-hoaxsters in his list of non-alternatives to oil this time.
GregT on Mon, 8th Apr 2013 6:06 am
If you don’t like the high price of food, resulting from climbing fossil fuel costs you have a few choices you can make.
You can walk less, ride a bicycle less, and generally conserve as much energy as possible.
If you half your food intake the price of food can double without any increase cost to the family budget.
Bring on the cheaper food substitutes. We need choices at the grocery stores. It is time to end the monopoly on food grown from fossil fuels.
The high price of food will make us all think a little more about how we consume energy. Energy efficiency might become a deciding factor when you buy meat, dairy products, or produce from thousands of kilometres away, in the future.
mike on Mon, 8th Apr 2013 6:14 am
Aww, look at Kenz, it’s trying to think. Nice ideas from 1994 Kenz, meanwhile the rest of us have realised none of what you say is going to happen
GregT on Mon, 8th Apr 2013 6:26 am
In the country with the largest economy on earth, one out of every six people are already living off of food stamps. Transportation is going to be the least of our worries in the near future. Learn how to grow a garden and be self sufficient now, while you still can. Walmart is not going to be around forever.
Arthur on Mon, 8th Apr 2013 8:07 am
Of all the people’s of Europe, the British have the lowest awareness of environmental issues; we remember the famous London fog from the novels of Sherlock Holmes and in Britain today there is the least public resistance against fracking (or it should be Poland). The British hate it that they don’t produce cars anymore and that they are forced to drive in a ‘kraut’ or ‘frog’ car, but if they can afford it, it is going to be a big one. The renewable energy revolution is in full swing in Denmark, Germany, Italy, Czech Republic, Spain (in that order), but not in Britain (or Holland I regret to have to say, largely due to abundance still of Dutch NG).
luap on Wed, 10th Apr 2013 4:08 pm
You are wrong this one bill ..New car sales are up in the UK…if you believe BBC news