Rising fuel prices could cost UK businesses at least an extra £333m each year in fuel for company car fleets, according to estimates.
Fuel prices have reached 90p a litre for the first time, amounting to a £1m cost to the industry for every day that the fuel price remains this high, according to calculations from Masterlease fleet managers.
Garry Hobson, managing director of Masterlease, said the calculations were based quite conservatively on the 2.8 million company car drivers in the country, each doing 10,000 miles a year at 40 miles per gallon of unleaded.
Based on this week’s increased fuel prices, this would mean each one of them will pay an extra £120.50 per year in fuel.
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“It does look like these fuel prices are here to stay and even get slightly higher, with some parts of the country already paying more than £1 per litre,” Hobson said.
“With the cost of unleaded up 10.6 pence per litre since January, the volatility of fuel prices make it very difficult for HR and fleet managers to plan fuel budgets.”