Interactive petrol map shows where you can get cheapest fuel in your area
Motorists can pay more than £20 extra to fill up their cars depending on which petrol station they visit, according to the first-ever official forecourt figures.
The government’s competition watchdog has called on fuel companies to publish up-to-date prices charged at the pumps across the country to ensure a fair deal for consumers. It has recommended a daily update which motorists can search online for the latest prices which may have statutory backing.
Fuel companies have agreed to join an interim voluntary scheme which has now published its first list of prices for nearly 4,000 forecourts across the UK. You can search for the latest petrol and diesel prices near you with our postcode-search gadget below.
Ten of the biggest fuel retailers have joined the voluntary scheme set up by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), including Shell, BP, Esso and supermarket retailers Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Asda. The CMA said that the petrol stations listed so far cover 60 per cent of the fuel sold in the country.
Petrol prices are already aggregated by some websites and apps but they generally rely on user-supplied prices and can be a few days old, whereas the latest figures are provided by the retailers themselves and are correct for the most recent trading day.
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The most expensive pump price in the country on the list is the 181.9p charged for a litre of standard petrol at Killington Lake Services on the southbound M6 near Kendal. For super grade (E5) petrol the cost was 195.9p. A few miles away in the town of Kendal, Asda in Burton Road is charging just 148.7p for standard petrol - which is an 18 per cent discount on the motorway fuel.
Motorway service stations charge far higher prices than elsewhere on the road network, with seven forecourts demanding 179.9p per litre for petrol and 182.9p for diesel. The average price for standard petrol is 154.3p while for diesel it’s 157.9p, according to the latest figures.
According to the data, which is supplied by retailers, the cheapest petrol in England was at a Tesco petrol station at Penwortham in South Ribble, Lancashire, where it costs just 140.9p per litre of petrol. For someone driving a Nissan Qashqai, it would be £22.55 cheaper to fill up their tank at this petrol station, compared to the most expensive motorway forecourts.
Three other Asda forecourts - in Altrincham, Bethnal Green and East Renfrewshire - were listed as selling petrol for 142.7p a litre. A spokesman for the Competition and Markets Authority said: “During July and August, the CMA worked with the largest fuel retailers and trade associations – representing a significant proportion of petrol and diesel sold in the UK – on a temporary data scheme.
"While this scheme is a useful first step, it’s important there is a mandatory, permanent scheme in place as soon as possible, so drivers have access to real-time prices from all the fuel stations in the UK. The permanent scheme will help ensure effective competition, which benefits consumers and businesses."
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