RAC calling for reversal of 5p fuel duty cut

[Robertb]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm2nrneym82o

I can sort of follow their logic, which is that consumers haven't benefited from the cut... but rest assured, if duty goes up the retailers will pass it straight through!

I do imagine though that the fuel duty escalator will switched back on...

[highway]

Perfect excuse for the fuel duty escalator to be reactivated. People aren’t buying EV at near the numbers govt want. Making petrol and diesel more expensive and perhaps ratcheting up the cost of VED yet more, will perhaps make EV more attractive.
They certainly need to do something. If you aren’t a company car driver or buying a second car, why would anyone buy the compromise? One look at residuals would give most buyers a proper fright.

[Gericho]

I really don't understand what it has to do with the RAC. They are quite anti-driver in most of the stuff they come out with. Ever since they started trying to meddle in politics I stopped using them.

[vikingaero]

There's RAC Motoring Services which is the insurance/breakdown arm owned by Aviva, where they like selling insurance based products to motorists, but see motorists as an inconvenience.

There's the RAC Foundation who are is a registered charity and independent of both RAC Motoring Services and the Royal Automobile Club. The RACF are a bunch of kumbayas who preach safety, because no-one can ever question or challenge safety, and love to preach and tell people what to do.

Both are organisations are equally useless to everyday motorists.

[malaccamax]

I support them in this, given any duty increase is really a tax on fuel companies. They might put prices up but they also know if prices go up too much they'll lose the battle with EVs, meaning they probably won't pass on the whole duty increase. Govnt has got to be brave here.

[Essarell]

malaccamax said:

I support them in this, given any duty increase is really a tax on fuel companies. They might put prices up but they also know if prices go up too much they'll lose the battle with EVs, meaning they probably won't pass on the whole duty increase. Govnt has got to be brave here.

In certain circumstances EV are far cheaper than ICE to run and maintain, I don’t think it’s running cost comparison that’s hampering the rollout and subsequent conversion to EV

[heisthegaffer]

vikingaero said:

There's RAC Motoring Services which is the insurance/breakdown arm owned by Aviva, where they like selling insurance based products to motorists, but see motorists as an inconvenience.

There's the RAC Foundation who are is a registered charity and independent of both RAC Motoring Services and the Royal Automobile Club. The RACF are a bunch of kumbayas who preach safety, because no-one can ever question or challenge safety, and love to preach and tell people what to do.

Both are organisations are equally useless to everyday motorists.

Aviva haven't owned RAC for some time from memory.

[vikingaero]

heisthegaffer said:

vikingaero said:

There's RAC Motoring Services which is the insurance/breakdown arm owned by Aviva, where they like selling insurance based products to motorists, but see motorists as an inconvenience.

There's the RAC Foundation who are is a registered charity and independent of both RAC Motoring Services and the Royal Automobile Club. The RACF are a bunch of kumbayas who preach safety, because no-one can ever question or challenge safety, and love to preach and tell people what to do.

Both are organisations are equally useless to everyday motorists.

Aviva haven't owned RAC for some time from memory.

CVC?

[Dimebars]

I think the logic here is sound enough, but the reality is that if UKGov put 5p duty on a litre, then the producers/retailers are passing that straight back to the drivers at the pump

[malaccamax]

Essarell said:

malaccamax said:

I support them in this, given any duty increase is really a tax on fuel companies. They might put prices up but they also know if prices go up too much they'll lose the battle with EVs, meaning they probably won't pass on the whole duty increase. Govnt has got to be brave here.

In certain circumstances EV are far cheaper than ICE to run and maintain, I don’t think it’s running cost comparison that’s hampering the rollout and subsequent conversion to EV

I think you're right for home chargers, but there are the inevitable comparisons between rapid charger prices and petrol/diesel costs. Rapid chargers need to be cheaper if we're going to do this.

[highway]

Perfect excuse for the fuel duty escalator to be reactivated. People aren’t buying EV at near the numbers govt want. Making petrol and diesel more expensive and perhaps ratcheting up the cost of VED yet more, will perhaps make EV more attractive.
They certainly need to do something. If you aren’t a company car driver or buying a second car, why would anyone buy the compromise? One look at residuals would give most buyers a proper fright.

[heisthegaffer]

vikingaero said:

heisthegaffer said:

vikingaero said:

There's RAC Motoring Services which is the insurance/breakdown arm owned by Aviva, where they like selling insurance based products to motorists, but see motorists as an inconvenience.

There's the RAC Foundation who are is a registered charity and independent of both RAC Motoring Services and the Royal Automobile Club. The RACF are a bunch of kumbayas who preach safety, because no-one can ever question or challenge safety, and love to preach and tell people what to do.

Both are organisations are equally useless to everyday motorists.

Aviva haven't owned RAC for some time from memory.

CVC?

Not too sure who owns now. Always thought it was a weird acquisition by Aviva.

[ATG]

I have to say I think the logic expressed is fairly mental. The idea that an increase in duty won't get passed on to customers is nuts. Also the fact that margins have gone up is largely because supermarkets used to sell fuel as a loss leader; i.e. margins used to be artificially low and independent retailers used to quite understandably complain that the supermarkets represented unfair competition. During COVID the supermarkets started selling fuel at a more normal margin and have continued to do so.

I'm afraid the cost of fuel for ICEs needs to keep getting ratcheted up to "encourage" us to reduce our carbon footprint, so a relatively small increase in duty seems like a good thing to me. It'd be lovely if fuel were cheap and we could piss it up the wall without causing problems for everyone else, but that ain't the world we live in.

[Reciprocating mass]

Fuel price increase will also mean increase in food and all other items yet another cost rise in everyday items
To hit the hard working

[Skyedriver]

ATG said:

I have to say I think the logic expressed is fairly mental. The idea that an increase in duty won't get passed on to customers is nuts. Also the fact that margins have gone up is largely because supermarkets used to sell fuel as a loss leader; i.e. margins used to be artificially low and independent retailers used to quite understandably complain that the supermarkets represented unfair competition. During COVID the supermarkets started selling fuel at a more normal margin and have continued to do so.

I'm afraid the cost of fuel for ICEs needs to keep getting ratcheted up to "encourage" us to reduce our carbon footprint, so a relatively small increase in duty seems like a good thing to me. It'd be lovely if fuel were cheap and we could piss it up the wall without causing problems for everyone else, but that ain't the world we live in.

Ignoring of course the huge carbon footprint to actually manufacture EVs, their batteries etc and end of life recycling.
Oh and the carbon footprint at the power generating stations where this green fuel is manufactured.