Improvements in fuel efficiency hit petrol sales
Tuesday, 21 May 2013
Fuel sales have fallen significantly over the last five years as a result of a higher frequency of fuel efficient cars and rises in the price of oil.
Forecourts in the UK have seen their petrol and diesel sales fall by a massive 20 per cent, from 37.6bn litres in 2007 to 34.2bn litres last year, according to the AA.
Diesel use appears to be growing rapidly and is not far from replacing petrol as the most popular fuel. Petrol sales fell from 22.9bn litres to 17.4bn litres, while diesel rose from 14.8bn to 16.7bn. This is a result of a higher number of fuel efficient diesel vehicles currently on the road.
An AA spokesperson said:
"Greater take-up of diesel cars and smaller petrol vehicles has contributed to this overall decline in UK fuel sales over the long term," said AA president Edmund King in a statement.
"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."
As the world recovers from recession, it is likely that the price of oil will rise further:
"The trouble is that, with global economic recovery, the stock market will predict greater oil and fuel demand and push up commodity values accordingly," he said.
Green campaigners will welcome these new figures, with evidence suggesting that fuel efficient vehicles are becoming more and more popular:
"Whenever we poll our members almost everyone is considering fuel efficiency for their next car, you can see from the carbon emission data for new cars that we are burning less fuel," said the AA.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) recently confirmed that average CO2 emissions for new cars have fallen almost 23 per cent in the last decade. The current average 133.1g/km CO2 is close to meeting the EU’s requirement of 130g/km for all automakers to achieve by 2015.
Electric cars are now growing in popularity, with Nissan recently announcing that it will bring production of their Leaf car to Britain, at their plant in Sunderland.
Consumers are now taking advantage of a booming car market to trade-in their old cars for more fuel-efficient alternatives.
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