Diesel has officially become cheaper than petrol for the first time in 14 years after Morrisons has slashed prices by 2p per litre.
This comes just days after the AA criticised fuel retailers for “plundering” the pockets of diesel car drivers, despite wholesale diesel prices being around 2p cheaper than petrol for the last six weeks.
Since January last year, wholesale prices have slumped by 44 per cent to around £343 per tonne, however during the same period, pump prices have dropped by a meager 14 per cent.
Mark Todd, petrol director for Morrisons, said: "Because of the recent price drops in the wholesale diesel price, we are able to pass on these savings to our customers.
"This is a milestone in motoring and many younger drivers won’t remember the last time that diesel prices were lower than unleaded.”
The fall in wholesale prices have been attributed to reduced demand throughout Europe, after the European Supreme Court ruled that nitrogen dioxide levels must be reduced across the EU.
As nitrogen dioxide is produced in relatively large amounts by diesel engines, many governments have started to impose controls or restrictions on diesel-powered vehicles, with France planning to ban them outright.
In Britain, there are nearly 11 million diesel cars on the roads, a number which has risen significantly in recent years after the government incentivised diesel vehicles with VED and taxation policies.
However, while the reduction in prices will come as good news to the millions of drivers in the country who own a diesel car, motoring bodies have stated that it hasn’t come quickly enough.
Earlier this month, the RAC Foundation calculated that diesel drivers could have paid as much as £250 million more than they should have thanks to forecourts not reflecting wholesale prices.
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “This is good news for the ten million or so diesel car drivers, but our analysis shows it could have come weeks ago. The wholesale price of diesel fell below that of petrol back in the middle of May.
“The real test is whether in the future the prices motorists pay at the pump more accurately reflect what retailers pay at the refinery gate.”
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