Green fuel could cost 700,000 motorists £158 more a year: Drivers of older cars will have to fill up with more expensive fuel when unleaded replacement launches, experts warn

• All petrol stations will sell E10 as the standard unleaded petrol from September 1 
• Official estimates suggest 700,000 cars are not compatible with E10 fuel  
• Motorists could then be forced to fill up with more expensive super grade petrol 

Petrol bills will rise by as much as £158 a year for hundreds of thousands when ‘green’ fuel arrives next week, motoring groups warn.

All petrol stations will sell E10 as the standard unleaded petrol from September 1, replacing E5.

But official estimates suggest up to 700,000 older cars are not compatible with E10 as it could damage seals, plastics and metals in engines over long periods.

These motorists will be forced to fill up with more expensive super grade unleaded – the only E5 fuel still on offer. 

All petrol stations will sell E10 as the standard unleaded petrol from September 1, replacing E5

At last week’s prices, it was on average £6.60 more expensive to fill a typical 55litre family car with this. 

The typical motorist fills up 24 times a year, meaning annual bills are to rise by an average £158.40 for those with cars not compatible with E10.

E10 contains 10 per cent bioethanol, double that in E5, made from materials such as waste wood.

Howard Cox, of FairFuelUK, said the Government’s fuel policy will ‘hit small businesses and drivers on low incomes who can’t afford newer E10-attuned vehicles’.

But official estimates suggest up to 700,000 older cars are not compatible with E10 as it could damage seals, plastics and metals in engines over long periods

Motoring groups warned the switch could hit poorer households the hardest as they often own older cars due to being least able to afford to replace them.

Motorists whose cars are compatible with E10 will also shell out more on petrol as E10 is around 1.6 per cent less efficient than E5.

It means their fuel bills could rise by an average £29 a year, based on last week’s pump prices.

The RAC’s fuel spokesman, Simon Williams, said: ‘With the price of petrol at its highest for eight years, those drivers who have no choice but to use super unleaded E5 petrol will be paying through the nose.’

The Department for Transport said: ‘The switch to E10 fuel could cut CO2 emissions by 750,000 tonnes a year – the equivalent to 350,000 fewer cars on the road – and is vital to meeting our net-zero ambitions.’

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