One in four Dutch people financially trapped by expensive fuel

Gasoline price

Hooray: in various places in the Netherlands you can now once again get a liter of E10 for less than two euros. In June, the recommended price for a liter of gasoline was still at 2.504 euros, which makes anything under two euros seem almost “cheap” instinctively. Bizarre of course, last year you could fill your tank almost anywhere for 1.80 euros per liter or less. At the cheapest petrol station in the Netherlands, the price in 2021 was even on average 1.655 euros for a liter E10 (Euro 95). According to experts, you will unfortunately have to get used to a gasoline price of around two euros. For many Dutch people, this creates major financial problems.

Excise duty reduction

The ANWB would therefore like to see the government not reverse the current excise tax cut for the time being. The reduction of 17.3 cents (gasoline), 11.1 cents (diesel) and 4.1 cents (LPG/LNG) per liter will basically expire on January 1, 2023. Despite the reduction, a liter of fuel is still very pricey in the Netherlands. Nowhere in Europe are fuel prices as high as in our country. In Belgium, France and Germany, thanks to rigorous measures, prices around 1.60 euros for a liter of E10 are not unusual.

Car necessary

Research by the interest group shows that due to high fuel prices, one in four Dutch people have great difficulty keeping their car running. Thirty percent of those surveyed in the ANWB survey indicated that they really need their car to get to work. An (electric) bicycle or public transport is not an option for this group, as they would be travelling considerably longer.

Influence on car use

The survey also found that 60% of members are more likely to leave their car at home due to high fuel prices. “Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, fuel prices have risen enormously. This has a major impact on the car use of the Dutch,” said the ANWB.

Where the cheapest gas stations in the Netherlands are located you can read here: