Car-Insurance-UK-Supermarket.co.uk
compare online quotes the easy way
|
||||
|
||||
Motoring organisations call for EU petrol price review1 June 2011by Emma Jamieson A syndicate of motoring organisations based throughout the EU that includes the AA and RAC and represents over 35 million drivers has demanded an EU investigation into petrol pricing. The motoring alliance, known as the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), has argued that the setting of petrol prices lacks transparency and because it is based on the small Rotterdam spot market, it is not representative of the wider EU petrol and diesel market as a whole. The AA has called for an independent regulator of petrol pricing while Werner Krauss, chairman of the FIA council in Europe, wants the EU to specifically look at the effect of speculators that invest in the oil market as their activity has a siginificant effect on the volatility of pump prices. The average motorist has seen an increase in £10 to the cost of filling their tank over the last year and while the price of a barrel of Brent crude has dropped by $10 since its high of $125 in April (a high that was due to market jitters surrounding the events of the Arab Spring), the petrol price has not dropped so fast at the pumps. Of course, because oil is traded in US dollars, fluctuations in exchange rates impact on prices too. The cost of refining also varies while less central locations have higher transportation costs to deliver fuel to the pumps. Countries also vary considerably in their fuel duty and their taxes on petrol and motoring. As we have reported here before, 95% want the Government to reduce the price of fuel. The Government recognises this and reduced fuel duty in the last budget, but motorists are looking to politicians to provide more assistance, particularly as this country has a high level of fuel duty. If the new tax on North Sea Oil production is rolled out as announced in the Budget then, gradually, the tax burden on the cost of fuel should lighten. However, it won't feel like that to the motorist because the price of petrol will continue to rise as the price of crude oil rises. In reality, it will be the individual choices of motorists that will make the biggest difference to their expenditure on fuel. Many are already planning to buy a more fuel efficient car next time. Hybrid cars are likely to become more popular. Electric cars will remain expensive to buy (despite Government grants of up to £5,000 to buy them) for at least 5 years and their limited range limits their utility. However, currently, the cost of recharging an electric car is a tenth of the cost of a conventional car in terms of fuel cost per mile and, as electirc cars reduce in price, many will be attracted to their fuel economy. In the meantime, many are already reducing their car use by, for example, walking to local shops, saving up trips, undertaking less recreational driving trips, and car-sharing where possible. Many councils have helped with car share commuting by providing databases to help members of the public to team up. Although the AA and others have argued, reasonably, that the car is here to stay, for young people especially, that also face a sky-high car insurance premium, the car is increasingly becoming a luxury item rather than a routinely affordable lifestyle choice. |
||||
|
