Drivers paid nearly £1 billion more in total for fuel at supermarkets last year due to increased margins at the the 'big four' chains, an investigation has found.
An inquiry carried out by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that motorists filling up their vehicles at Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury's and Morrisons paid an additional combined cost of "around £900 million", with average supermarket fuel prices rising by 6p per litre between 2019 and 2022. The watchdog's report also found that an increase in margins on diesel across all fuel retailers cost drivers an extra 13p per litre during the first five months of this year.
The Government has said that it will introduce a new law making it compulsory for fuel retailers to provide up-to-date pricing information to third parties, in response to a recommendation in the CMA's report. It's expected that this will lead to the creation of price comparison apps and websites, which will enable drivers to find the cheapest fuel in their area in real time.
