Petrol stations have been accused of overcharging drivers after the competition watchdog reported a sharp rise in fuel profit margins.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) stated that retailers are now taking a significantly larger share of fuel spending than in the past, with profits on every £1 spent more than doubling at some supermarkets and rising substantially at other forecourts.
Luke Bosdet of the AA said drivers are “still being ripped off at the pumps” while struggling with tight household budgets. He pointed to a “postcode lottery” in fuel prices, where neighbouring towns often see large differences, with many areas paying far more than others.
According to the CMA, supermarket fuel margins averaged between 8% and 9.1% in the three months to June. That is up from 4% in 2017 and slightly higher than the 7.9% to 8.3% seen in the first three months of this year.
Non-supermarket petrol stations made profits of 9.9% to 10.6% on fuel sales in the three months to June, compared with 6.4% in 2017. This means drivers are now paying about 10p from every £1 spent on fuel directly to retailers, up from just 4p eight years ago.
The CMA reported that the average price of petrol rose by 1.9p to 133.9p per litre last month, while diesel increased by 3p to 141.9p. Although prices are climbing again, they remain well below the record levels of summer 2022, when petrol averaged 189.5p and diesel 197.9p following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Petrol stations have faced repeated claims of profiteering since the energy crisis. In 2022, the chief executive of Ascona Group accused Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, and Asda of failing to pass on lower wholesale costs to drivers, even while buying fuel more cheaply than independent operators.
