Taking the car to Europe? It pays to fill up before you go

The biggest increase has been in Greece, where a litre of unleaded has surged by 33p to £1.37
The ‘D-charge’ will bump up the cost of parking diesel cars in London

Prices at the pump have been rising recently and now — with the annual summer exodus to Europe looming — it emerges that there have been even bigger fuel price hikes on the continent than at home.

Depending where you plan to drive, the latest Post Office Travel Money Motoring on the Continent Report reveals that you could pay up to 32 per cent more than last year for unleaded petrol and 48 per cent extra for

diesel. Post Office research has found that one in eight Londoners plans to head off on holiday in a car this year and their top three destination choices will be France, Spain and Italy.

There is good news for those visiting Spain, and 45 per cent of Londoners driving abroad will be doing just that.

It is one of only two countries among the 12 most popular with Londoners, where a sub-£1 litre is still available — but only if you’re driving diesel.

It costs 95p a litre in Spain but unleaded petrol is £1.05 — still 10p on average cheaper than in the UK.

The other sub-£1 country is Austria, popular with Londoners for touring holidays. Unleaded is 99p, while diesel is just 91p. Cross into Switzerland and you will pay 16p more for unleaded and 27p extra for diesel.

There is no escaping that a rise in crude oil costs has been compounded in Europe by sterling’s fall in value. This means that while fuel costs have risen seven per cent since last summer in the UK, the European increases have been much higher — except in Croatia.

In France, the most popular destination for London’s holiday motorists, you can expect to pay 15p more a litre for unleaded than a year ago — a rise of 14 per cent — and 19p extra for diesel — an even bigger increase of 22 per cent.

“With this year’s fuel price increases, it pays to plan where to fill up,” says Andrew Brown of Post Office Travel Money. “If you are driving to France, Belgium or Ireland in a petrol car it will make sense to fill up in the UK as pump prices are lower than in these countries.

“The reverse is true if you are using diesel. It will be better to wait until you reach foreign soil before detouring to the nearest supermarket because pump prices are lower than on main roads.”

The biggest increase at the pumps has been in Greece, where a litre of unleaded has surged from £1.04 last year to £1.37, a rise of 33p, a third more. Although diesel is far lower at £1.14 a litre, this still represents a 37p — 48 per cent — increase from 77p a year ago.

If you are hiring a car in Greece, make it diesel, as this will cost 23p less a litre than for unleaded.

While fuel costs have increased in the past 12 months, it’s worth remembering that just a few years ago fuel was edging towards £1.50 litre in the UK and higher in Europe. When the PO compared today’s rates for unleaded and diesel with those five years ago, it found that prices have plummeted.

“Despite recent rises, the cost of crude oil is far lower than in 2012, so motorists are paying up to 20 per cent less for unleaded now than five years ago and up to 22 per cent less for diesel,” Brown says.

“The biggest falls of 29p a litre for unleaded petrol and 28p for diesel are in France, so that’s great news for the three-in-five Londoners planning to drive there.”

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