The diesel price rise
As recently as six months ago, one of the main incentives for buying a diesel vehicle was the perceived savings on fuel compared to a vehicle using unleaded petrol. But now it’s not uncommon to see the price of diesel up to 25 cents more than regular unleaded, leaving many owners of private diesel vehicles wondering if it was all worth it.
Several factors have contributed to the diesel price rise.
The main reason for diesel being consistently more expensive than standard unleaded petrol is that most diesel is sold under contract to fleet operators, mainly for heavy vehicles. This means the volume sold at your local service station is low, leaving retailers little incentive to discount.
Also previous Government regulations allowed diesel to contain 500 particles per million of sulphur. This has recently been adjusted to allow only 50ppm resulting in the production costs of diesel and unleaded petrol being quite similar.
Diesel prices are also kept high by demand in Asia, where most transport uses diesel.
Many Australians holidaying in New Zealand come back wondering why diesel is significantly cheaper there than it is here. However, Trans-Tasman diesel prices cannot be compared, as diesel in NZ is not taxed at the point of sale. Rather, diesel vehicle owners are required to pay a Road User Charge (RUC) in distance travelled slots, making the actual cost of the journey much more expensive than it appears at the bowser.
Manufacturers and the Government may be pushing diesel as a ‘green’ alternative to petrol, but owners and potential buyers are probably questioning if diesel is indeed a fuel of the future.
What are your experiences with buying diesel? Do you still find it worth the money, despite the recent price rises?
April 30th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
I don’t care so much about the price of fuel (even though I’d prefer it to be low) than the driving experience.
We are attracted to diesel cars for a few reasons-
1. Better torque (useable ‘pushing force’) to level hills and provide overtaking superior to petrol vehicles (ie 80 - 120kmh). Torque is fantastic as anyone who drives a V8 will attest.
2. Better economy (partly makes up for higher prices)
3. Not having to stop so often for fuel (ie drive to Melbourne on one tank). Stopping at rodhouses on the Hume takes 15-20 mins minimum. Would rather stop where I like.
4. Effortless in-gear accelleration and relaxed city driving
5. Approx 30% less Co2 and 20% better fuel consumption
We are presently driving a car that takes Premium 95RON and we often pay extra for 98RON, so the jump up to diesel would be negligible. We would definitely consider a diesel car as our next purchase.
I think that most people would agree that choosing a car is very personal and not many purchases are based purely on economy (hence performance vehicles etc). Economy is only one dimension.
Having said that, the difference between petrol and diesel should be less than it is.
April 30th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
Having bought a Ford Focus diesel in December ‘07, I am of mixed feelings about the value. I find the drive an absolute delight and the range brilliant (900+km) . The cost is becoming an issue. At least the car does live up to its stated 5.6l per 100km, so when compared with similar small petrol cars whose economy is 6.5 to 7.5 the price difference at the pump is balanced out. Which would be fine had the vehicle cost the same as the equivalent petrol spec. But the extra $5000 makes it a little tougher to swallow. My green side was hoping that a diesel choice would give us more options (biodiesel) moving forward in Australia, so hopefully that may still be realised. At present I think we still have a good deal, but not if the disparity between petrol and diesel pricing increases.
April 30th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
I have run diesel for the last 13 years, but not for my next vehicle:
1. My current Land Rover Discovery TD5 only averages 14 l/100 on country driving - so economy is not as good as claimed (dealer insists everything is correctly set)
2. The supposed economy of diesel consumption + the higher cost of diesel does not break even with the premium paid for a diesel engine ($10,000 on the Landcruiser)
3. Increasing use of bio diesel makes it hard to avoid, yet Land Rover and Ford both state that its use, in any proportion, will void engine warranty.
4. Too many service stations cannot maintain their diesel pumps properly, with leaking handpieces and a puddle on the ground, it does not making re-fueling nice, especially for a lady.
April 30th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
If climate change becomes true and the effect is damaging to our planet, our children’s children could in all fairness ask, ‘why didn’t we do something to prevent climate change?” This is why I have gone for diesel. I am hoping that the “greener” diesel will make a difference. For this reason, I will wear the extra costs (through gritted teeth!). I know the cost of continuing to use petrol will far outweigh the costs of changing our habits now.
April 30th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
I have just returned from a trip to Queensland, Naturally I filled up just before crossing the border back into N.S.W. Price of diesel was $1.48 a litre
At the first service station in N.S.W.the price was $1.68. I would like to know
if they have a generous government up there, or are we subsiding them?.
My prado has a capacity of 180 litres which at 20 cents a litre comes to quite a lot ,$36.00 to be exact.
April 30th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
I recently purchased a Jeep Cherokee Diesel. Around town the consumption is about 13l/100km. On a highway run the consumption is about 10l/100km. I don’t think this is any better than would be expected from the 3.7l petrol engine in the Jeep and considering that the diesel engine was more expensive and the fuel is more expensive, there does not seem to be any benefit both in either economy or the environment.
May 1st, 2008 at 9:49 am
I have a Land Rover Discovery TD5 and really glad that I switched from petrol to diesel. The range within the tank makes it worthwhile I reckon- I get near 900 kms from a tankful and if it was petrol I’d have half that. 10.5 l/100 kms is great for a large car. I filled up in Queensland (90 litre tank) drove back to Newcastle and still had enough fuel for running around for 3 or 4 days. Cost is minor issue- if it was running on petrol it might be cheaper per litre but you fill it up twice as often so it seems more expensive.
May 1st, 2008 at 10:26 am
I agree with most of the positive comments above, ie driving the diesel is a dream, the range is incredible and it is definitely a greener option. While I am a bit disappointed with responsiveness “off the line”, once underway the acceleration must be experienced to be believe. However, with the disparity in pricing between diesel and ULP increasing from 5-10c/l in January to 20-25c/l in April, one must be suspicious that a bit of profiteering might be occurring at the diesel owner’s expense. The oil companies are obviously copping heaps about the ULP pricing and diesel has not got the user base to have a large voice.
Any takers on that scenario?
May 1st, 2008 at 10:35 am
While the high cost of diesel ($1.69/l at my last fill) is worrying, especially for those like me who rely on a pension and have to travel 100+km to town for shopping and medical etc, there are other benefits.
My current vehicle (92 Toyota 4runner) still uses 10l/100km after 420,000km. The big saving over petrol engines is the lack of need for costly servicing. Every 10,000km I change the oil and filter and grease the driveline - cost is around $20 for oil and filter (Kmart oil). Apart from having the injectors cleaned at 200,000km that is all the regular servicing that has been needed.
Compare that with a petrol engine that needs tuneups and new plugs etc on a regular basis - some services costing $200 to $600 - and one can see a major advantage of going diesel.
David
May 1st, 2008 at 3:56 pm
The argument by oil coys that the price of diesel is affected by the need to provide for the processing of the lower sulphur content diesel is so much garbage. As in all the oil coys pronouncements it is self-serving. The lower sulphur content diesel has been available for years in Europe/UK. There is no new technology involved. it is just an excuse to jack up prices for consumers. It is baloney to say the cost of processing diesel is now equal to that of petrol. In any case, if it is, why does it consistently cost a minimum of 15 cents a litre more?
Again it is a case of any excuse will do if it gives them an opportunity to rip off Australian consumers. I had noticed on previous visits to England and Ireland and Europe that the cost of fuel there, both diesel and petrol was approx. twice what it was in Australia. We are now catching up fast and the differential in pricing between Australia and UK/ireland/Europe is now negligible. The oil coys have used the current escalation in the price of oil as an excuse for jacking up the price of all motoring fuels. Despite what they say there has been no real allowance for the increase of the value of the AUD$ to the USD$. The poor mug motorist gets it in the neck again.
Why doesn’t the NRMA undertake a serious comparison of prices for both diesel and petrol based on price rises for oil and the relative value of the Australian/US dollar exchange rates. A further comparison stiudy would show up the glaring difference in the increases between the price of fuel in Australia and that in Europe and the UK over the past 10 years. Someone should bring the oil companies to account as the ACCC doesn’t seem to be able to do so.
May 1st, 2008 at 9:55 pm
I’m with you on that one, Larry.
Fuel prices are a joke. Profit margins must be met and it doesn’t matter where oil companies get the money from - they will get it.
But let’s face it - nothing will be done about it. Prices will continue to rise and rise and rise and it’s us who’ll bear the cost - at the bowser, at the supermarket etc. etc. etc.
May 2nd, 2008 at 3:05 pm
I have driven diesels for the past 10 years or so because I have horses and have to pull a 3500kg trailer. I currently have a Ford F250 single cab diesel.
Diesel was always 20-30c cheaper than petrol, better economy, longer range, more efficient and of course much better torque for towing, so it was always a no-brainer for people with horses to go for diesel.
But now with diesel having gone up about 50c a litre over the past 12 months, and being at least 20c a litre more expensive than petrol now, I am beginning to question whether it is worth it.
My car has a 150L tank. A year ago at $1.20 a litre it cost me $180 to fill the tank and that lasted me 1200km, about 1000km if towing a lot.
Now to fill the tank at $1.70 a litre, it costs me $255 - that is a difference of $75 per tank!
I am about to downsize my trailer so will in future probably only need a car to pull 2500-2700kg, and as I will only be towing a couple of times a month now, I am seriously considering selling the F250 and not necessarily getting a diesel again!
May 4th, 2008 at 11:18 am
I have to agree with some of what Denis says about a more thorough analysis of the diesel/petrol/oil market - if it has been done already then I haven’t seen it published. Aussie fuel prices should be published not only as price per litre in today $ but also as an adjusted price taking into account the oil price (typically quoted as US$/barrel) AND exchange rate variations (AU$ vs US$) - this should not be hard to do; then map it against time and you should get a genuine price trend against intrenational factors….
May 5th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Interesting to read some of the comments, but I have to say that the oil companies are only doing what they can. They can charge what they like, so they do, they can rip us off, so they do. And the Australian motorists will take it, as they have always done. The oil companies know this, so they will continue to do what they can. Nothing the Australian motorist say or do will change anything, because the Australian motorists say and do nothing!! If the Australian motorists chose to NOT buy any fuel from Mobil for one month, regardless of any counter-action by Mobil, what a difference it would make. And then BP, and then Caltex……….???????
May 6th, 2008 at 12:02 am
Dear All. Not sure when the government mandated levels of sulphur content (now 50 ppm) came into effect or what impact that had on relative prices but I do know that the ACCC’s formal monitoring of fuel prices (which began on 17 December 2007) covers unleaded petrol only and not diesel fuel. Are to believe that the subsequent hike in the ratio of diesel to petrol prices since Christmas is just one of life’s nasty little coincidences?
Of course, this nasty little coincidence would have to happen around the same time as my wife and I just commited to purchase our first ever diesel. I do hope we don’t live to regret this decision. Guess we can chaulk it up to experience and hope that our 4 yro son gets to benefit from a cleaner environment one day.
May 7th, 2008 at 9:48 am
I purchased the new i30 turbo diesel back in November last year, when the pricing disparity was around 10 cents a litre. With the claimed litres per 100km figure, i would have been $610 better of a year travelling 20000km a year. Roughly 4 years to recoup the purchase price difference of $2500. Now with the price disparity at around 25 cents a litre, i am only $469 better off and taking5 and a half years to recoup the purchase difference. Although to cover the same 20000km a year i would use 500 litres less than the equivalent petrol powered car. Having made these calculations the savings should be far greater given the better economy from diesel and the fact the diesel is equivalent or less to produce that petrol. Adding the disparity is from unleaded not e10 fuel. And besides all this talk of bio diesel where is it and is it cheaper?????
May 7th, 2008 at 11:00 am
Looking at the current fuel price.
which one would wiser option, Volkswagen 1.9Lt turbo diesel injected (TDI) or a pertol version?
May 8th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
Swati,
I would still go for the Volswagen turbo diesel.
Dont forget apart from the fuel pricing issue, diesel engine offer:
- better pulling power
- better reliability
- better resale value
- less stop between refuelling
- less CO2 emission
If you consider only the fuel pricing issue, maybe for now petrol and diesel are on par. Remember your Volkswagen need Premium Unleaded not standard unleaded
May 9th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
I too bought an i30 CRDi a few months ago and am very pleased with my decision. The purchase was basically my way of going ‘green’, after using an old Mitsubishi Magna that used 14L/100Km about town, I now get 5.xL/100Km.
However my beef is with:
- The oil companies - because their claim that producing diesel and petrol costs them about the same, yet the price at the pump is never the same.
- The government - that continues to rake in a disproportionate amount of taxes from diesel, (~$20 Billion budget surplus this year).
Diesel, which is used in businesses, creating jobs, and which is subsidised by some overseas governments, should be taxed at reduced rates to improve Australia’s competitive trading position!
May 10th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Recently bought a Citreon C4 1.6HDi EGS. Love the Drive - Love the economy. Annoyed at oil company rip-offs.
How about the NRMA tracks and publishes diesel prices as well as unleaded petrol?
There are more of us “oil burner” drivers on the road by the day. Time the Oil Co’s and governement woke up.
Also time to give us credit for our eco-friendliness - with its FAP partical filter my car has lower emmissions than a Toy Prius, but due to Aussie measuring rules a diesel will never rate more than a 5/10 on the GreenCar Guide
May 11th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
I have a 2008 Mazda 3 turbo diesel and although diesel is more expensive, the sheer driving experience of a turbo diesel truly makes up for it.
May 11th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
I still do not understand what this means.
The main reason for diesel being consistently more expensive than standard unleaded petrol is that most diesel is sold under contract to fleet operators, mainly for heavy vehicles. This means the volume sold at your local service station is low, leaving retailers little incentive to discount.
Also previous Government regulations allowed diesel to contain 500 particles per million of sulphur. This has recently been adjusted to allow only 50ppm resulting in the production costs of diesel and unleaded petrol being quite similar.
Diesel prices are also kept high by demand in Asia, where most transport uses diesel.
Does this mean ordinary consumers are subsidizing fleet operators eg: trucking companies, government departments (because they run fleet cars), councils etc.??
Why does high demand in Asia have an effect on prices here, if diesel is in high demand wouldn’t the price be lower?.
Do we export diesel to Asia?.
If Diesel cost the ULP the same to produce why does cost 20c more at the pump, don’t the trucking companies get discount fuel to deliver it?.
Should not the same government and media effort in ensuring ULP prices are competative be extended to diesel?.
Isn’t it in the environments best interest to convert more of the public to the wonders of diesel driving. surely the government (Peter Garett) can champion this (maybe write song about it).
In the name of the environment should not the government be creating incentives for people to drive diesel vehicles.
Also not being a mechanic why do diesel cars cost more than there ULP equivalent surely the engines don’t cost that any more to mass produce considering diesel cars are more prevalent in Europe.
Surely there is case for discrimination here.
I still don’t understand and I still have not read real valid reason why we see these disparities other than extortion and profiteering.
Who is the voice for public for these sort of issues is it not the government, or are they in league.
I have one more stupid question why does Singapore determine our ULP pricing, don’t we produce our own?.
May 11th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
I bought a 2 litre Golf TDI just before Easter last year, and it’s a decision I haven’t regretted one iota. I regularly get between 4.8 - 5.0L/100km on the highway at 100km/hr. In addition, the torque going the hills around Northern NSW is very impressive. All the focus on petrol prices has of course produced the disgraceful side effect of allowing oil companies, in collusion with the Federal Government, to sneakily increase the price gap between petrol and diesel. Unfortunately, nothing will change, as all the overpaid bigshots like Graeme Samuel from the ACCC are just sabre-rattling in a vain attempt to justify their positions.
May 12th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
Diesel economy is anything from 15% (Xtrail) to 50% (Prado) better than an equivalent petrol car depending on make and model (based on the manufacturer’s Australian Standards test advertising). Latest diesels are very close to hybrid economy without the huge initial cost, except for Honda (are you listening Toyota?)
Now if everyone were to be driving a diesel then say on average we would
consume 25% less fuel, we put a whole lot less pollutants in the air and it saves us a lot of money and there is growing trend towards this (my next cars are going to be diesels and/or hybrids) as diesels are now more user friendly, efficient and green, and really good to drive. It would help our balance of payments significantly.
BUT, and its big BUT, the oil companies would get 25% less revenue and profit, so do you think they would want to encourage the use of diesel, I think not, just the opposite, so that is why in my opinion the oil companies
are using any excuse to jack up the price and increase profitability on diesel before the majority of us go diesel.
You will also see that diesel is on the way of the jouney of oil refining (look at their websites) to get petrol, so it can’t be dearer.
So why no activity from the government? (State and Federal), well the same applies to them, 25% less consumption, 25% less excise, duty, GST, etc, and the huge revenue windfall that fuel taxes deliver, that is a large slice of revenue reduction!
I could be wrong, but I suspect the government is putting revenue before what appears to be really good for the country (lower emissions, less cost to the motorist, better balance of payments). So unless we can make ourselves heard through the likes of the NRMA, I suspect neither oil company or government here is going to be in any hurry to encourage the more widespead use of diesel as an alternative fuel.
May 13th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Al Says:
May 11th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
I have a 2008 Mazda 3 turbo diesel and although diesel is more expensive, the sheer driving experience of a turbo diesel truly makes up for it.
What state are you in? I am trying to get an ‘08 Mazda 3 diesel but am being told by the dealers they can’t get them until all ‘07 models are cleared!
May 16th, 2008 at 7:12 am
Anthony,
I am in Brisbane, Queensland. I got mine at South City Mazda. I managed to get about 4K off RRP including a $1000 diesel card.
Cheers,
Al
May 16th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Today, at my local mobil service station, petrol was $1.44. Diesel was $1.68.
By the way,I don’t hear any complaints from our queensland cousins.
It would be interesting to hear what the other states are paying,country and city. Sydney price for diesel as above
May 16th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
Jim: you can see how much we pay in Brisbane on motormouth (http://motormouth.com.au/).
Today diesel was $1.56.9, ULP was $1.35.5.
Roughly the same price difference as Sydney.
You can buy Bio-Diesel in Sydney too, whereas I don’t think we have it up here yet.
May 16th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
The price of Diesel and LPG is an absolute joke. We sell LPG for 4cpl to China and we pay 60.9cpl for it. LPG costs nothing to produce. It’s simply trapped while Petrol is produced. Anyway on Wednesday the price of Diesel was 169.9 cpl and the price of Unleaded was 140.9 cpl at the local BP. Also, has anybody noticed that the media always talks about ‘petrol prices’ but nothing about ‘fuel prices’?
May 16th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
I’ve been a diesel driver since 1994 and have never looked back, infact most of my family has now converted to diesel cars or 4wd’s. Can’t understand why anyone would drive a petrol powered car that in some cases comsumes 30 to 50% more fuel. The CO2 emissions are much lower on modern diesel’s. It’s like Mark Luinstra stated, it’s all about revenue. If we all drive diesels, then the government would get less revenue. THEN what about all the enviroment talk! I don’t understand why people get a rebate to convert their cars to gas and not to buy a diesel? Gas powered engines need constant tuning and maintance to run clean. How much engine oil does a gas converted engine burn!
I noticed today that some Shell servo’s put diesel up to $1.779! in Melb metro and others were still at $1.619, only km’s apart. What the hell is going with diesel prices. I am really peaved at the price difference between unleaded and diesel. We MUST do something about it. Maybe we should ring Neil Mitchell on 3AW and voice our anger.
May 17th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
I’ve read all the comments and many I think have hit it on the head. We all know that diesel is a more efficient fuel than petrol and produces a cleaner environmental outcome when used with modern technology. Better economy, better torque, longer engine life, not to mention the sheer driving pleasure - to name a few. I have a VW Golf 2.0L TDI manual which consistently gives 4.6L/100kms from Canberra to Sydney at 110km/hr. I have had it as low as 4.4L/100km on some trips - a tremendous range on a 55L tank. So Swati, the 1.9L TDI VW is a long way better bet than the comparable powered VW 1.6L premium grade ULP vehicle. I worked out that on current prices ($1.48 petrol; $1.74 diesel) there has to be for me a 60 cent differential to break even against petrol - and this can only get better an the cost of fuel rises.
Mike Rakebrandt put it very clear - there must be an incentive for more people to go diesel for the environment’s sake. A simple legislative enforcement to create parity for diesel and standard ULP is the solution. If Government is genuinely serious about tackling the perceived greenhouse issues, keeping the cost of food and housing down, improving our national balance of trade among many other benefits they would surely implement this idea immediately. But, as it has been pointed out in other comments the all-mighty dollar, whether it be the impact on corporate profits or government revenue, seems to take precedence over the good of the nation and of the globe.
In Europe, diesel vehicles represent something like 80% (particularly Germany). A redirection of the public is necessary and can only be achieved initially by Government intervention then the market will take care of itself.
One final point, Government must redefine the so-called Green Care Guide and give diesel cars their due recognition. Maximum 5/10 is not good enough - on this basis the Prius (what I term the Feel Good Car) might achieve 3 to 4/10 against the best of the diesels.
I am worried that the Government’s greenhouse credentials are looking decidedly shaky given their latest assault on domestic solar installations.
NRMA, WHERE ARE YOU! This is a role you could be taking up. Publishing daily fuel prices wont bring down the cost of fuel. You need to be more intrusive.
May 17th, 2008 at 11:37 pm
I also recently bought a diesel, an i30, for the great fuel economy, 4.7 l/100k, and superior diesel driving experience. From the time I ordered the car before Christmas to when i picked it up in mid April, I to have seen the price of diesel escalate compared to petrol, for no aparent reason except that the oil companies want to pay us back for using less of their fuel! We’ve all seen this happen with the price of LPG compared to petrol in recent times and now it is happening with diesel. The whole transport industry runs and relies on diesel with heavy vehicles transversing our nation daily powered by diesel engines. Raise the price of diesel substantially and what do you think this is going to do to prices and inflation in particular? If this government is serious about controlling inflation and in reducing energy use, it should make a decree that diesel fuel is not to be sold nationally for more than the price of petrol. We all know that it costs less than petrol to produce so isn’t it time to draw a line in the sand and stand up to the profit hungry out of control oil companies? Unfortunately the one who has the power to do this also has their hand in the same pocket through the excise on fuel collected. Herein lies the problem that we all have to continue paying for!
May 18th, 2008 at 12:17 am
I ordered an i30 tdi seven weeks ago and was told that delivery would be in 6 to 8 weeks. I have now been told that I can expect delivery in mid July. Seeing the price of diesel rise to 38 cents above the price of ULP at some petrol stations in Sydney today, I am wondering if I should cancel my order and go for a petrol engine!
May 18th, 2008 at 10:37 am
Hey I must say very intersting reading from you all.
This may not be true but maybe someone can look into it. I was recently told that the price of diesel had a “TAX” added into it back in I think it was the early 70’s to Subsidise the Rail Freight industry and prior to it being a tax transport operators had to actually pay a “railway tax” to the government . This is probably not really any different to what the New Zealanders are doing now. My Question is why are we (the motorist) still subsidising rail and other heavy transport in this country I am sure that the Rail system can look after its self. So if this is true maybe the government really needs to look at this as alot of you have already indicated above. With all major car brands about to release a number of new diesel model cars like two diesel versions of the Xtrail and diesel Lancers and Outlanders from Mistubishi etc. the push is on for us to all go “Greener”.
Something needs to give and it will take “ALL OF US” and many more to voice our dissatisfaction with the way that he government is handling the diesel fuel pricing based on the revenue it creates for them rather than trying to even better build up their green credentials.
May 19th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
The price differential of Diesel is a joke, I have no doubt it is simply the oil companies profiteering and getting one back at the consumers for the increased pressure on margins that the ACCC is applying on their petrol business.
In April 2008 (I know this, because thats when I bought my Diesel Focus) the price of Diesel was 10-12c more then ULP - The historical average over the past 4 or so years has been less then 10 cents, now we are commonly seeing huge differentials of 22c or more! The average price of Diesel in Sydney is now 28.8c a litre more then ULP (Source, motormouth.com.au).
This is an open letter to the community, please mobilise, I know some of us may not pay too much attention to this and this is what our politicians and oil companies are hoping for - they will not act until we make them listen, write letters, write comments on blogs so that blog writers know its a popular topic, contact your local representative do anything you can to bring awareness to the outright theft of our money, diesel passenger cars have doubled in number in the past year, this is a huge group who needs to be heard.
May 20th, 2008 at 1:50 am
Let’s get our facts straight:
Diesel engines produce less CO2, but much more very fine carbon particulates (soot), so just as much carbon emission.
Modern diesel powered passenger vehicles drive so well due to high tech add-ons such as turbos and intercoolers…much more complicated, with higher service costs, than the old rattlers. But, man, it feels great!
I love the smell of diesel in the morning…it smells of victory (what the General SHOULD have said in Apocalypse Now)
And down with greedy oil co’s and short-sighted governments.
May 20th, 2008 at 8:01 am
We bought an Astra diesel in DEC06 and I’m am wondering myself if it’s now worth it. It just seems that as the poularity of diesel cars increase, so does the fuel companies insistence on raising the diesel bowser price to subsidised their petrol price.
They are selling more diesel these days but still mostly sell petrol. Because they want to offer the best discounted price to attract customers, they jack up the diesel price to make up their percieved loss in the petrol discount.
I think I would have been happier buying a petrol car and having a small gas tank fitted for the day to day driving.
May 20th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Interesting the price difference in Sydney today for diesel compared to ULP is around 40cpl.
Is there anyone in State or Fed Govt we can raise this with?
May 20th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
There must be a lot of well off people out there. Sure diesel is all the good things BUT as a self funded retiree pulling a caravan and wanting to do lots of it all around our beautiful country, for the first time we are having to restrict the kilometres. This is very disappointing as after all the years of waiting for it, our retirement dream is fading. I would like to see a seniors discount for travellers say more than 500km from home.
May 20th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
‘Where is the biodiesel?’ some have asked. There are a few factories in Aust, but most are in mothballs now. They can make the stuff, but could not force the distributors to take it and on-sell ( so - blame the big oil companies AGAIN). Previous fed govt gave some support for them to start up, but did not support it further…. and the current fed govt? Could be doing a lot more. We need these bd companies, and the CSIRO researching second generation biofuels.
May 21st, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Being a diesel car driver for 4 years now (VW Golf 2.0TDi then Eos 2.0TDi with DPF and Fiat Punto 1.9TDi) after many years of expensive V6’s, I strongly believe that you cannot go wrong if you look at performance vs consumption. My previous Mitsub Verada 3.5V6 used between 12 and 15 l/100k and had less performance than my TDi’s…. that is a ratio of around 2:1 when you compare things this way. In the real world, we drive to the traffic in the city and the speed limit in the country and so need both good performance and economy. the amazing thing about my diesels is that it doesn’t seem to matter too much how hard you drive them, they are always incredibly economical, resulting in cheap thrills!
I recently took an enthusiastic trip through the Sunshine Hinterland with a few friends in 1. VW Golf GTi, 2. Hondo Accord Euro, 3. Subaru Rx and my Eos TDI…. the amazing thing was that there was really no performance difference in the enthusiastic runs, there was heaps of fun watching the others shrink into the rear vision mirror on the hills, and at the end of the day, my car took almost half many of the others in litres…. so how can you really compare that!??
Incidentally, Queensland diesel prices are maniacally high now - my local BP (50PPM Diesel) charges b/w 30 and 40c/l more for diesel!!!!!!!!!! that is $1.68/liitre at the moment with ULP currently $1.35/l….. that is profiteering if I ever saw it!!!! Bastards! (have fuel card, so cannot choose - but do not pay tax on it in return - gotta love the novated lease!)
May 21st, 2008 at 7:14 pm
Fuelled up yesterday for 175.9c/litre. Glad I did. It was 179.9 today!!
I had a chat with an ex truckie today. He said the 20c/litre rise came pretty soon after the government gave the industry a 18c/litre rebate. In other words, the fuel companies just put the price up to grab the rebate for themselves. Perhaps a more informed person could confirm this.
I drive a 91 landcruiser ute for a work truck, and it’s great. With tools on board it weighs about 2.5 tonne, and I get around 12 litres/100km. It gave better economy before they cut the sulphur, about 10litres/100km. I had a fuel catalyst installed which is supposed to give more economy, but not sure if the $700 was worth it. May be need a bigger one due to less sulphur.
Surely this huge rise in fuel prices is pushing inflation up.
May 21st, 2008 at 8:11 pm
On 16 May, Josh made a comment on exporting gas to China. I suggest he has confused LPG with LNG. We export LNG to China from the vast gas fields of the NW shelf. This is NOT LPG, which you can buy down the local service station. They are two different fuels and LPG is manufactured and contains mostly propane and butane.
May 22nd, 2008 at 2:53 pm
Simple supply and demand worldwide as diesel is the fuel of choice in the developing world and a barrel of crude oil produces about 15% diesel and 51% petrol plus other products. All trucks trains and heavy machinery use it to.
May 22nd, 2008 at 6:44 pm
That’s right, Dave. But why can’t Australians buy lng/cng vehicles already produced by Toyota, VW and others, and which are freely available in Asia. The Australian governments bans the import of these vehicles, so you and I have to keep paying extortionate prices for petrol, meanwhile lng/cng is exported to Asia for around 3c a litre.
If we could buy the cng cars here, you could fill your car from your domestic gas supply.
I guess it’s a lot to do with the government’s excise on petrol which pays a lot of wages wouldn’t it. And that’s on top of the GST.
Australians are being ripped off, forced to buy expensive petrol, but not able to use the very fuel that Australia has in abundance, and available in your own kitchen!
May 23rd, 2008 at 8:07 pm
I placed a blog some days ago, and it is very evident that a lot of people are quite agitated about the ever increasing price margin on diesel over petrol. We may not be able to do much about prices rises in general, but we can and must do something about the differential on diesel.
These expanding price margins cannot keep going indefinitely. In the last few days the Truckies are becoming more vocal and the Government is going to have to take notice before the proverbial S hits the fan and the freight industry (contractors in the main) shuts down altogether. They are not making any money and are being squeezed by the large transport magnates.
I suggested in my other blog that the only way to go was to establish parity for diesel and standard ULP by legislation - this puts certainty into the marketplace for long term decision making when it comes to buying vehicles. I’m sure that Truckies would gladly give up there 18.51c/L (for eligible trucks and journeys) which would save the government a lot of money - something it seems set on at the moment.
I said before and I’ll say it again, the NRMA must get more involved to push this line with the Federal Government.
For those who have reservations about having bought a diesel car or are considering buying one - don’t give it a second thought. It is very clear that the advantages of owning one of these green machines is both exhilarating and economical if you sit down and closely examine the figures - but remember, costs alone should not be the only reason for making your choice.
By the way, most of the new diesels now have particulate filters to remove the nasties.
May 24th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
anthony
re the mazda 3 diesel : I bought a runout 2007 model for 27grand no need to wait for 2008 model,not a lot of difference anyway great car! worth the price difference in fuel for the performace alone.
May 25th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
I wanted to boost the number of the few who in this blog who are gritting their teeth and bearing it because emitting less CO2 matters. I am a happy convert to diesel small cars and wont go back. Having bought second hand the fuel consumption still beats the cost even at todays prices. I also find modern diesels easier to drive and more responsive. Just watch out for those hi-flow pumps!
I must also say I am always staggered by the fuel consumption SUV drivers seem to think is acceptable, few seem to admit to the city consumpton figures. Unless it is a commercial vehicle, do you really have a right to whinge about fuel prices when you are obviously prepared to pay so much anyway. Are you just finding somebody else to blame for what is your lifestyle choice?
In a way SUV drivers are lucky, if the cost of fuel is getting too much, there is an easy way to fix the problem……
May 26th, 2008 at 11:51 am
I have ordered a VW EOS TDI 2.0Litre based on the consumption. The order is taking a few months to come. I am unhappy about the Diesel Pricing Issue. Yes its great that I get longer driving per tank and better economy for the environment, but these were understood at purchase. With VW the diesel is $2K cheaper. Personally I feel that the issue is around price sensitivity. If I ran an Oil Company I would charge more for diesel because look at the drivers - They are expensive European Cars like VW and BMW’s. These drivers can afford it. The truckers just pass it onto clients and have fuel card contracts. So I believe it is an ACCC issue. Its rarely even on the sign boards.
If the Rudd Government is serious about the environment they would ask the companies to justify the prices. Right now they are focussed on “working families” and think the typical BMW driver is OK. What they do not understand is that people will stop buying Diesel because resale values will go down. If Diesel is $0.50c more than ULP, which is on the cards, why would anybody want to buy it. Lets write our local members and make sure it is correctly, not corruptly, priced.
May 26th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
I bought a Hyundai Santa Fe Diesel in early March 2008 when the price differential in Qld was between 8 and 10 cpl. With fuel consumption averaging around 8.5l/100km and mostly country driving this price difference was quite acceptable to me. I am certainly impressed with the torque and general drivability of the Santa Fe, however with a price differential now approaching 35cpl up to $1.75 in some areas of Qld I can”t help feeling we are being used by the oil companies to susidise the petrol users.
I like Rob,s earlier idea of Boycotting one oil company every month.
May 26th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Here is the letter I just sent. Send one of your thoughts yourself.
To Penny Wong
Dear Penny
Re Environmental impact of Overpricing Diesel Fuel
One issue that needs attention in a climate perspective is Diesel. A lot of people like me have purchased Diesel cars because they use 15-25% less fuel than other cars. They are really good and an in-between hybrid and normal car.
For some reason the price of diesel is now 20c more than petrol when it was closer to even historically.
My cynical thinking mind is that there is a mindset in oil companies that Diesel Cars are expensive so these drivers can pay the extra – ie Price setting based on capacity.
This price difference will heavily influence the public to stay petrol and orders for diesel cars will decrease.
What I seek from Government is a price probe into pricing – Get the ACCC to work for the environment (with teeth) and make absolutely sure the pricing is based on cost to provide, not capacity. Get Oil companies to demonstrate the costs historically and now so we can understand if the refining costs, supply costs or other costs justify the increasing gap or if its simply oil companies trying to establish high margin products at the expense of our planet.
We need announcements like this so we feel the ACCC is doing its job. Good PR for Labour post budget as well.
Regards
Duncan
June 3rd, 2008 at 4:51 pm
I have owned a diesel VW Passat for almost 2 years. The purchase was made on the advantage of better fuel economy and lower costs over my previous Audi A4 which I filled up with 98ron Fuel meaning a difference at the time of only 5-10c/litre on each fill.
I have been refueling every fortnight with my Passat and with the petrol price for Diesel at 1.80c/l today, whilst petrol was sitting at 1.54c/l It just does not make any sense. As of today I have purchased a honda Jazz which is as frugal in the bowser as my passat. However, it takes petrol at the much lower cost. I will therefore be paying $108/60ltrs of Diesel or $92.40 for Petrol. A substantial difference in costs of $15.60. With the range being comparable, it just does not make sense to drive my passat any longer unless the pricing of petrol and diesel become closer.
June 4th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
I don’t know how you can say that it makes no sense to drive the Passat just because the Jazz has better fuel consumption. They are entirely different cars!
Surely the Passat is much better to drive with its 103 kW/320 Nm compared to the Jazz’s puny 61 kW/119 Nm!
June 10th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
I am just amazed by the fact that the government dodes nothing oh sorry Kevin Rudd just gave $30 m to Toyota to build a hybrid car whay cant they build it why the tax payer.
I just bought a Holden Astra Diesel and I paid $1.95 a litre on the weekend to fill it up. Diesel is far cheaper to make then petrol but yet they charge us more in fact Australia is becoming a palce where you can do what ever you want to make peoples pockets hurt. It s time the goverment did something and stop talking and wearing expensive shirts come up with ideas to stop these hungry oil companies from ripping the world off..
June 11th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Try owning a couple of trucks, we cannot survive anymore, we don’t get subsidised by the fuel companies, we receive 18.5c per litre from the government, and have for the past 5 years, although in this time the cost of diesel has doubled. We have lost the battle to survive, with no releif in sight i am sure there will be more casualties just like us. When Kevin Rudd speaks about the rising cost of fuel, diesel is not mentioned, nor the transport industry. The consumer is already witnessing the rising cost of absolutely everything at the grocery store, as i am pretty sure all grocery items are delivered by road, not rail. Our farmers receive drought relief, our race horse industry receives compensation for the horse flu, and yet the everyday person is affected by the cost of goods delivered by road transport, and nothing is done. Wake up Mr Rudd, while you’ve just received a pay rise the average joe is worse off every day you sit and do nothing! Do something now to save the Transport Industry. It’s too late for us but the few who can keep trading until we see some sort of relief need help now.
June 14th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
There are still a few questions unanswered, Why is Australia the only western country in the WORLD where the diesel is that more expensive than petrol ( even in NZ after paying your tax) and in Europe there are at the moment only 3 countries where diesel is more expensive than petrol by 0.5 cents a litre.
As we all know any diesel vehicle is more economical than an equivalent petrol vehicle, so if we are running out of oil ? and want to save the planet by burning less fossil fuels you would think that the government would promote diesel vehicles. You might have heard the test they did in Europe where they had a BMW 5 series diesel car and the TOYOTA PRIUS hybrid car in a test and the BMW was a fraction more economical than the prius ( so much for hybrid) We can also start on BIO diesel and that is even better for the environment, but we won’t promote that because the government and the oil company’s lose control, that’s why we hear it isn’t save to use ( all diesel engines now produced in Europe are bio diesel compatible those are the electronic injected diesel engines).
When is the government going to be honest and support bio diesel and LPG for cars Ford and Holden can make all cars run on LPG only we would save a lot of oil. I know the Oil company’s won’t be happy but screw them for a change.
July 23rd, 2008 at 10:32 am
RE: Mark - you hit in on the head there. Why is Australia the only country where diesel is more expensive than petrol.
In Adelaide this morning diesel was $1.89 and petrol…. $1.54 - what the hell!!!!! This is an outright ripoff. The price of a barrel of oil has dropped and so has ULP but not diesel. I would like to see the uproar if the price of petrol was behaving like this.
November 19th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Someone should ping these fuel companies over the price of diesel. It is easier to refine and so costs less to make, I’m also beeting taxes are less. These companies should be taken to task. Does anyone know the amount of taxes diesel attracts?
November 30th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
Years ago the cost of diesel was approx 50% less than petrol. Today in Adelaide the cost of diesel is 139.9 c/l while unleaded petrol is 99.9 c/l.
Why is it 40c dearer than petrol with less production costs.
I suppose if they come up with an answer is would be overseas costs, overseas demands, etc etc - in other words bulls…. excuses again while diesel users are being ripped off.
It jsut seems that when questions are asked about fuel pricing, everyone - fuel companies, government, accc etc, act like they are rearranging the deck chairs on the titanic and cannot give a logical answer.
December 2nd, 2008 at 10:11 am
As of December 2, diesel is now 40c more expensive than 91 RON unleaded petrol. That the gap is now this large is ridiculous, OR it must mean the economic slowdown in Asia (the market where we source our diesel) is still booming and has not been hit by the downturn in markets.
I suspect there is some truth to the suggestion that the petrochemical companies are ripping off diesel users (who are mainly businesses) because they will just carry the cost as part of expenses.
Private consumer diesel users are caught up in it all. Some pressure should be applied, as there is clearly something wrong here
December 2nd, 2008 at 10:43 pm
When i ordered my new diesel prado in January , diesel prices in adelaide were on average 8 cents per litre higher than unleaded , by the time the car was delivered in july 25 cents per litre higher . Now the price of oil is through the floor we are paying up to 40 cents per litre more . where does this end , we are being ripped off by the oil companies and our elected government , our motoring clubs are standing by and doing nothing . do we have any options , i would like to hear some
December 3rd, 2008 at 12:34 pm
I live on the central coast of NSW,the diesel prices here are anywhere between 40 and 44 cents per litre higher then standard unleaded.This is ABSOLUTELY CRIMINAL.Would someone please explain to me how we are to understand that our government is letting this RIP OFF happen. I sincerely hope that our “NRMA”, is going to do all that it can to” HELP”.We all need to pressure our leaders into looking after us all, in making sure that these oil companys are controlled.
December 21st, 2008 at 1:24 pm
We often drive through Europe and having just (Nov.2008) returned from a 4500 km trip through France and Italy I can report we paid between Euros 1.21 and 1.28 per litre of diesel.
At todays exchange rates that equates to AUD 2.42 and 2.56 per litre.
About 70% of private cars in Europe run on diesel because it has always been about 15 to 20% cheaper than petrol.
Traffic in the cities and on motorways in Europe is still just as dense as it was last year and the year before etc. but there is a definite leaning towards smaller cars.
Our Renault Modus (not available in OZ) returned 4.6 ltr/ 100 km.
My VW Golf 2.0 TDI takes abt 6.5 ltr/ 100 km.
Last week I paid 35 cts more for my diesel car then my wife paid for her petrol Honda. I just cannot understand why truck owners don’t make more “noise”. For heavens sake: the price of oil has bottomed to close to US$40 a barrel.