Petrol prices fuel real worry

    | Charis Whitcombe

    We are probably going to be paying £100 for a tankful of petrol by 2015, according to the Ernst & Young ITEM Club.

    If our stress counsellors want to know ‘how do we feel about that?’, British Car Auctions (BCA) can give them exact figures. To gauge our future car-buying habits, they’ve just surveyed 4000 motorists and found:

    - Half of us expect that the rising cost of fuel will force us to change our driving habits and/or change to a more fuel-efficient car

    - 20 per cent put the tipping-point at £1.30 per litre – a further 15 per cent of us said it would happen at £1.50 per litre

    - The number of two-car households fell substantially in the last 12 months

    - 27 per cent said they would be looking for better fuel economy on their next vehicle

    - 39 per cent said they’d cut fuel duty if they were running the country.

    BCA says it’s already seeing demand for smaller, fuel-efficient cars outstrip supply as so many of us try and make our budgets stretch further – resulting in rising prices for low-mileage, top-quality models. On the other hand, the market is being slightly flattened by the fact that motorists are planning to keep their cars for longer and drive less, according to BCA.