Fuelling Up: What Car-Heavy Countries Pay at the Pump
Fuel costs have signified headaches for drivers around the world in recent months, with concern increasing over rising prices. In April 2024, UK drivers faced the biggest fuel price hike in five months, with RAC warning that the prices are still too high for motorists.
With over 30 million cars in the UK alone, this cost is impacting a significant number of households.
With that in mind, we have reviewed the cost of fuel prices in Europe, the UK and the US, creating an index to reveal who is paying more per litre. With this information, we have also predicted the cost of fuel over the next 30 years, along with predictions for the uptake of EV chargers in the same countries.
Turkey and the US Rank First Overall for the Cheapest Fuel Price
We calculated the cost of diesel, petrol, and electricity across 22 countries (European countries with the most registered cars, along with the UK and USA), as well as the number of EV chargers per square mile rank - ranking each country with a score based on the fuel cost. The higher the score, the cheaper the fuel.
Both Turkey and the US scored the best for cheapest fuel costs, with the US just narrowly beating Turkey with cheaper costs for both petrol and diesel. At the time of analysis, the cost of diesel per litre in the US was $1.05 (£0.83), with petrol an even lower cost of $0.97 (£0.76). In Turkey, the cost of diesel was slightly higher but still a respectable $1.26 (£1), with petrol $1.26 (£0.99).
While both countries scored well for electricity prices, the number of EV chargers per square mile is significantly worse than many other EU countries. Compared to 0.05 for the US and 0.025 for Turkey, the number of chargers per square mile in the Netherlands is a staggering 9.02, highlighting how these countries still need to do more to meet the EV targets.
Italy is the Most Expensive Country for Fuel
Based on our index of fuel, diesel, and electricity prices and the number of overall EV chargers per square mile, Italy ranks as the most expensive country. While they do not have the most expensive petrol and diesel costs - that crown goes to Denmark and Switzerland - they do score the lowest across all points on our index, resulting in an overall score of just 27 compared to the US and Turkey’s 67.
Switzerland follows close behind Italy as the second most expensive country for fuel, scoring an overall 33 on our index. Switzerland scores low, in particular, due to its high diesel price - the most expensive of all countries analysed. At the time of analysis, the diesel cost for Switzerland was a staggering €2.06 (£1.76).
However, Switzerland scored highly for the number of EV chargers per square mile, taking the fourth spot, with one charger per square mile. Moving closer to home, we can see that the UK is a lot more expensive than some might think.
The UK is the Third Most Expensive Country Analysed for Fuel Costs
According to our index, the UK is the third most expensive country for fuel scoring a total of 34 out of a possible 88. This ranking is based on an index calculating the cost of petrol, diesel, and electricity, as well as the number of EV chargers per square mile.
The UK has the second highest electricity price kWH of the 22 countries analysed at €0.40 (£0.34), with just Italy more expensive at €0.42 (£0.359). The price of diesel in the UK was also the fourth most expensive of all countries analysed at €1.82 (£1.56).
However, the UK did fare well for the number of EV chargers per square mile, scoring 17 out of a possible 22 for that category. Based on our data, the UK has an average of 0.6 EV chargers per square mile, with that set to increase as more people make the switch to electric.
But what do these costs mean for the future? How much more expensive is fuel going to become?
Diesel is Projected to Cost More than £3 per Litre in Some European Countries in the Next Two Decades
The EV pledge in the UK alone requires 80% of all new cars to be zero emission in just six years, with 100% of all cars to be zero emission by 2035. The UK is one of many countries with such targets. In response, we have analysed the projected costs of petrol and diesel by 2030, 2040 and 2050 for 22 countries.
Motorists in Switzerland are projected to pay £4 per litre (€4.68) by 2050 if the price of diesel was to continue to increase as it has in the last five years. The predicted price for petrol by 2050 is only a little lower, at an estimated £3.56 (€4.16) for drivers in the country.
Finland sees the second highest diesel projections by 2050 at £3.40 (€3.98) per litre, followed by the Netherlands at £3.27 (€3.82) per litre.
A Vauxhall Mokka Could Cost £139 to Fill Up in 2050
The UK could see an astonishing cost of £2.63 per litre (€3.07) by the year 2050. If we were to base this on a Vauxhall Mokka, for instance, with a full tank holding 53 litres, that would cost a staggering £139.39, highlighting how the increase in fuel could significantly impact disposable income for households.
Projected Diesel Price by 2050 | Full Tank Cost in 2050 | |
Switzerland | £4 | £212 |
Finland | £3.40 | £180.20 |
Netherlands | £3.27 | £173.31 |
Austria | £3.26 | £172.78 |
Germany | £3.23 | £171.19 |
Poland | £2.82 | £149.46 |
Denmark | £2.79 | £147.87 |
Hungary | £2.79 | £147.87 |
Italy | £2.69 | £142.57 |
France | £2.68 | £142.04 |
UK | £2.63 | £139.39 |
Greece | £2.60 | £137.80 |
Belgium | £2.56 | £135.68 |
Spain | £2.40 | £127.20 |
Czech Republic | £2.39 | £126.67 |
Norway | £2.35 | £124.55 |
Portugal | £2.34 | £124.02 |
Romania | £2.32 | £122.96 |
Bulgaria | £2.12 | £112.36 |
USA | £1.81 | £95.93 |
Turkey | £1.77 | £93.81 |
Sweden | £1.72 | £91.16 |
Based on the number of litres to fill a Vauxhall Mokka tank (53).
Comparatively, motorists in the US face a projected price of £1.81, which is only 5p more than the 2024 price of diesel in Switzerland.
Switzerland Faces the Highest Projected Petrol Cost
When looking at the cost of petrol over the last five years, we have projected the estimated cost per litre for petrol in 2030, 2040 and 2050. Switzerland will face the highest estimated petrol costs, at £3.56 (€4.16) per litre. This is followed by Denmark with an estimated £2.93 (€3.42) per litre.
The UK’s projected petrol price by 2050 could be a staggering £2.30 per litre. Using the same example as before - the Vauxhall Mokka - that would cost £121.90 for a full tank.
Projected Petrol Price by 2050 | Full Tank Cost in 2050 | |
Switzerland | £3.56 | £188.68 |
Denmark | £2.93 | £155.29 |
Netherlands | £2.63 | £139.39 |
Greece | £2.55 | £135.15 |
France | £2.54 | £134.62 |
Hungary | £2.46 | £130.38 |
Austria | £2.45 | £129.85 |
Italy | £2.45 | £129.85 |
Poland | £2.41 | £127.73 |
Spain | £2.37 | £125.61 |
Germany | £2.36 | £125.08 |
Norway | £2.32 | £122.96 |
Finland | £2.31 | £122.43 |
UK | £2.30 | £121.90 |
Czech Republic | £2.08 | £110.24 |
Belgium | £2.06 | £109.18 |
Portugal | £2.01 | £106.53 |
Romania | £1.97 | £104.41 |
Bulgaria | £1.85 | £98.05 |
Sweden | £1.70 | £90.10 |
USA | £1.34 | £71.02 |
Turkey | £1.25 | £66.25 |
Based on the number of litres to fill a Vauxhall Mokka tank (53).
Due to the rise in petrol and diesel prices, more people will be switching to electric - especially with specific country targets. But how is the future looking for EV chargers?
The US is Set to Have the Most EV Chargers By 2050
We predicted the number of EV chargers in the 22 countries analysed based on the increase in chargers between 2018-2023, and the US tops the charts for the highest prediction. In 2050, there are set to be around 852,760 chargers in the country if they were to continue to increase as they have over the last five years. However, this is also likely due to the number of people and cars on the road.
The Netherlands follows close behind with 712,496 EV chargers by 2050. Interestingly, the Netherlands ranks top for the number of EV chargers per square mile, highlighting how the country is light years ahead of many others when it comes to making the switch.
France rounds up the top three with an estimated projection of 603,160 chargers in the next two decades.
Unfortunately, countries such as Poland and Greece are set to fall behind, with a projection of just 31,593 and 32,992 EV chargers by 2050.
If you’re thinking about making the switch to an electric car, check out our huge range of electric and hybrid deals at Xcite Car Leasing.
Methodology
We collected data from GlobalPetrolPrices.com as of 14th May 2023, for the current prices of petrol (litre), diesel (litre) and electricity (kWh), as well as the number of electric vehicle chargers per square mile via separate sources. Data includes European countries with the most registered cars, along with the UK and USA. We assigned each country a rank for each individual price to reveal an overall rank using the average scores. The higher the score, the better the country is to drive in using these factors.
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